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Sheen will tarnish, honey cloy, 

And merry is only a mask of sad, 
But, sober on a fund of joy, 

The ivoods at heart are glad. 
The black ducks mounting from the lake. 

The pigeon in the pines, 
The bittern's boom, a desert make 

Which no false art refines. 

Emersox: Waldeinsamkeit. 




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The 

Camper's Own 
Book 

A Handy Volume for Devotees of Tent and Trail 



With Contributions by 

Stewart Edward White F. C. Selous 

Tarleton Bean J. Horace McFarland 

Edward Breck A. K. P. Harvey 

George Gladden Henry Oldvs 

Charles Bradford J. W. Elwood 

Ernest Ingersoll Frank A. Bates 

and Other Authorities 



Compiled and Edited by 
:}E0RGE sf' BRYAN 

Canadian Camp Club 




New York 

THE LOG CABIN PRESS 

1912 



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Copyright, 1912, by 
THE LOG CABIN PRESS 



C1.A314G84 



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Table of Contents 

PAGE 
REFACE 5 

[^Peoeogue : The Benefits of Recreation .... 7 
I By L. E. Eubanks 

The Camp-Fire 9 

By William C. Gray 
"Horse Sense" in the Woods. . 13 

By Stewart Edward White 
Comfort in Camp 20 

By Frank A. Bates 

Outfits 26 

Suggestions for the Sportsman's Outfit. . . 31 

By A. K. P. Harvey 
Suggestions for Hunting Outfits 35 

By Townsend Whelen 

Grub Lists 43 

Canoes and Canoeing 48 

By Edward Breck 
Animal Packing 52 

By Charles H. Stoddard 
What To Do If Lost 59 

By Frank A. Bates 
The Black Bass and His Ways 62 

By Tarleton Bean 
About Fly-Fishing for Brook-Trout 69 

By Charles Bradford 
Pointers for Anglers 76 

By Charles Bradford 
The Rifle in the Woods 81 

By George Gladden 



PAGE 

Hunting Caribou in Newfoundland 96 

By F. C. Selous 
Field Taxidermy 102 

By J. W. Elwood 
The Game Market of To-day 112 

By Henry Oldys 
Practical Photographic Hints for the 

Camper 128 

By J. Horace McFarland 
The Destruction of Our Forests 141 

By Rudolf Cronau 
A' Modern Deerslay^er 147 

By George Gladden 
A Foot and Saddle Campaign 157 

By Ernest Ingersoll 

Odds and Ends of Camp Wisdom 183 

The Camper's Home Library 188 

Trade Notes 191 



Preface 



This handbook makes no pretense of exhaustive- 
ness. It seeks only to present in an authoritative 
way some of the more important phases of camping 
and camp hfe. The articles are by our standard 
writers on such subjects. To them the editor gives 
all credit for whatsoever success the book may 
achieve; and to them he returns his best thanks 
for their courtesy and help. On many of the topics 
treated there are bound to be differences of opinion ; 
for these things are sources of debate around summer 
camp-fires and winter hearths. Knowing, however, 
that the book will come into the hands of not a few 
beginners, the editor has sought to eliminate any- 
thing that might mislead or misinform. 

Special thanks must be returned to the following 
for their interest and good-fellowship in placing at 
our disposal their contributions: Mr. Stewart Ed- 
ward White, Mr. Edward Breck, Mr. Ernest 
Ingersoll, Mr. C. B. Bradford, Mr. F. A. Bates, Mr. 
A.'K. P. Harvey, Mr. J. Horace McFarland, Mr. 
J. W. Elwood, and Mr. Rudolf Cronau. All 
material by them that appears in this volume is cov- 

[5] 



ered bj special copyright and cannot be used with- 
out express permission of the author. Mr. J. A. 
McGuire, of "Outdoor Life," also kindly consented 
to the use of portions of articles that had previously 
appeared in that publication. We desire also to 
acknowledge the courtesy of Mr. H. W. Henshaw, 
Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, 
for permission to republish the article by Mr. Oldys 
on "The Game Market of To-day." Particular grati- 
tude is due Mr. George Gladden, who has not only 
contributed two excellent articles — one of them on a 
hitherto neglected subject — but has given an expert 
reading to all the proofs and made numerous helpful 
suggestions. 

By his permission, we are enabled to reproduce for 
the first time a recent painting by Mr. Philip R. 
Goodwin, one of the leading American artists in this 
field. Several other attractive and apposite illustra- 
tions (from photographs) are scattered through the 
volume. 




Prologue 
The Benefits of Recreation 



THE custom of taking outing and pleasure- 
excursions is becoming more general each year. 
As the summer approaches we long to desert the 
dusty pavements and the confines of store or office, 
and wander, in delightful abandon, through the shady 
woods, to escape for a fortnight from the worry and 
care of exacting routine and be a child again — a child 
of Nature. 

I have said that the vacation custom is spreading, 
but I must qualify this statement; there yet remain 
many who plead lack of time, and continue the 
monotonous grind despite all remonstrance of body 
and brain. There are men so constituted that they 
seem to endure any amount of indoor work and retain 
health; but, in time, this too strenuous application 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

tells on all according to the strength of their respec- 
tive constitutions. 

It is difficult to understand how some men of ex- 
cellent business abihty and good judgment generally, 
can hold such erroneous views on economy of time. 
The grand old statesman, Gladstone, was never known 
to waste time ; yet it was he who said, "All time and 
money spent in training the body pays a larger in- 
terest than any other investment." 

Variety has been called the spice of life, but it is 
more; it is so essential that happiness cannot long 
exist without it ; and since happiness and a lively in- 
terest in our work are parts of the equipment for 
success, it behooves us to avoid monotony. A well- 
regulated life must include some provisions for whole- 
some diversion. 

Artificiality is all too apparent in present modes 
of life; we have strayed a long way from Nature in 
habits, dress, and food, and have suffered in conse- 
quence ; but when we refuse to heed her last warning, 
given through our instinct to relax occasionally, then, 
indeed, are we on the danger-line. 

Hardly less indiscreet is the man who begrudges 
every hour spent in recuperation, than he who neglects 
it altogether. You cannot expect to derive much 
benefit from your trip if you constantly worry about 
home affairs and allow yourself to think that you 
will never catch up with your work. Determine to 
forget everything but health and pleasure, and enjoy 
the trip to the fullest extent. 

L. E. EUBANKS. 



[8] 



The Camp-Fire 

BY 

William C. Gray 
Late Editor of ''The Interior'' 

THERE is an impalpable, invisible, softly-step- 
ping delight in the camp-fire which escapes 
analysis. Enumerate all its charms, and still 
there is something not in your catalogue. There are 
paths of light which it cuts through the darkness ; 
there are elfish forms winking and twisting their faces 
in the glowing, ash-veiled embers; there are black 
dragons' heads with red eyes, and jaws grinning to 
show their fiery teeth; the pines whisper to the si- 
lence ; the sentinel trees seem to advance and retire ; 
you may hear the distant scream of the wolf, or the 
trumpet of the moose, or the note of a solitary night 
bird, or the more familiar note of the loon. All these 

*From "Camp-Fire Musings," by W. C. Gray. Copyright, 
1912, by F. H. Revell Co. 

[9] 



THE CAMPEIVS OWN BOOK 

surround and conceal some other delight, as the body 
veils while it reveals the soul. 

Our birth is a sleep and a forgetting, and yet a 
remembering. It is the memory of the wide, wide 
world that has come down to us in our blood, and 
of the camp-fire of our tribal ancestors, and of their 
and our original ancestor who built his camp-fire 
under the trees of the garden, eastward in Eden. Sit- 
ting in its glow we are home again, though w^e know 
it not, nor can tell whence cometh the delight. It is 
rest and freedom from care. The sheltering trees 
look down upon us with calm pleasure, and soothe 
us to sleep with their whispered lullaby — a song 
which the mother yet sings to the baby cradled upon 
her breast, without knowing who composed it or 
whence it came. 

There was a rush for home, a tumbling together, 
and away we flew, two hundred and fifty miles due 
north, the last dozen of it in a caboose of an iron- 
ore train, which slacked up for us far out in the 
trackless forest. The tumbling Brule in front, the 
charming Chicagoan Lake back of us in the woods, 
a spring of the sweetest, coldest water at the root 
of an old hemlock ; pines, birches, cedars, maples, all 
around. The first question that is asked me at home 
is, "How about the mosquitoes.?" — a question which 
displays ignorance of this high-spirited siren. She is 
a stickler for etiquette. She demands precedence in 
the procession and attention to her music. She bites 
you because you invade her urban temples before she 
has finished her oratorios. You must wait till she 
has concluded her outing, sung her last madrigal, 

[10] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

and gone over to bite the angels. There is nothing 
mean about her. She does not, hke her human coun- 
terpart at Newport or Saratoga, seek to monopolize 
everything. She leaves all her possessions to you for 
the most delightful months of the year, August, Sep- 
tember, and October. 

"Charlie's" ax is ringing, and down comes a hem- 
lock. What's that for.? Your bed, of course. The 
tent is spread. The conier selected for sleeping is 
piled with hemlock twigs, and a sweeter bed, or one 
more springy, is not to be had for love or money. 
First a rubber blanket, then a sheet, and then a 
woolen blanket, and sleep needs no wooing. 

Everything here that is found is in unbounded 
opulence. Amid thousands of square miles of vir- 
gin forests, and v/ith good axes in hand, why should 
we not have imperial camp-fires.? The knack of the 
axman, when acquired in boyhood, is never lost. 
The blow that will go deepest and throw out the en- 
cumbering chip is an achievement of high art. And 
such fires as rewarded a half-hour's labor ! The logs, 
cut from twelve to fifteen feet long, and piled high, 
have the promise and potency of three splendid fires, 
one, and the first, from the middle portion, and one 
more to be taken as required from each end. Three 
cords of good wood for an evening is no waste, and 
the air is cold enough to make the heat as agreeable 
as the flame is inspiring. While no desolation is so 
sad as a fire-swept forest or city, yet the destructive 
agent is the source and the revealer of all material 
beauty and glory. Nothing that was known to 
primitive men w^as so worthy an object of worship. 

[11] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

It awakens a sense of dangerous power like the lion ; 
of lithe beauty like the leopard; of whelming mas- 
tery like the flood 

The campers in these solitudes are not solitary. 
In the daytime the trees are trees. Very beautifully 
and loftily the spires of pine and hemlock rise out of 
the valley, and the birch and maple overshadow us, 
but they are only trees. At night, when the torch 
is applied to the wealth of accumulated fuel, they 
are trees no longer. They leave their places and 
come out of the darkness to join our company. They 
say not a word, and yet not even to man is given such 
a variety of character and so much of the mystery 
of the spiritual world. We catch the thought of that 
white and stately birch — calmness, purity, and dig- 
nity. And so of that mighty pine, somber and lofty. 
This rustling maple is an old fnend. We understand 
him. He is no mystic, no poet. He talks about 
sweetness, shade, and beauty — familiar topics. 



[13] 



(4 



Horse Sense " in the Woods 



By 

Stewart Edward White 

Author of ''The Forest," ''The Mountains,'" "Arizona 

Nights,'' etc. 

THERE is more danger that a man take too 
much than too little into the wilderness. 
No matter how good his intentions may be, 
how conscientiously he may follow advice, or how 
carefully he may examine and re-examine his equip- 
ment, he will surely find that he is carrying a great 
many pounds more than his companions, the pro- 
fessionals at the business. At first this may affect 
him but little. He argues that he is constructed on 
a different pattern from these men, that his training 
and education are such as to have developed in him 
needs and habits such as they have never known. 
Preconceived notions, especially when one is fairly 
brought up in their influence, are most difficult to 
shake off. Since we have worn coats all our lives, 
we include a coat in our list of personal apparel just 



■By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 
[13] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

as unquestionably — even as unthinkingly — as we 
should include in our calculations air to breathe and 
water to drink. The coat is an institution so abso- 
lutely one of man's invariable garments that it never 
even occurs to him to examine into its use or useless- 
ness. In like manner no city-dweller brought up in 
proximity to laundries and of the firm belief that 
washing should be done all at once and at stated 
intervals can be convinced that he can keep clean 
and happy with but one shirt; or that more than 
one handkerchief is a superfluity. 

Yet in time, if he is a woodsman, and really thinks 
about such affairs instead of taking them for granted, 
he w^ll inevitably gravitate toward the correct view of 
these things. Some day he v/ill wake up to the fact 
that he never wears a coat when working or travel- 
ing; that about camp his sweater is more comfort- 
able; and that in sober fact he uses that rather 
bulky garment as little as any article in his outfit. 
So he leaves it home, and is by so much disen- 
cumbered. In a similar manner he will realize that 
with the aid of cold-water soap the shirt he wears 
may be washed in one half-hour and dried in the 
next. Meanwhile he dons his sweater. A handker- 
chief is laundered complete in a quarter of an hour. 
Why carry extras, then, merely from a recollection 
of full bureau-drawers ? 

In this matter it is exceedingly difficult to be 
honest with oneself. The best test is that of experi- 
ence. What I have found to be of no use to me may 
measure the difference betv/een comfort and unhap- 
piness to another man. Carry only essentials : but 
the definition of the word is not so easy. An essential 

[14] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

is that which, hy each man's individual exjjerience, he 
has found he cannot do without. 

How to determine that? When you have reached 
home after your trip, turn your duffle-bag upside 
down on the floor. Separate the contents into three 
piles. Let pile No. 1 include those articles you have 
used every day — or nearl}^ that often ; let pile No. % 
comprise those you have used but once ; and pile No. 
3 those you have not used at all. Now, no matter 
how your heart may yearn over the Patent Dingbat 
in No. 3, shut your eyes and resolutely discard the 
latter two piles. 

Naturally, if you are strong-minded, pile No. 1 
will be a synonym for your equipment. As a matter 
of fact, you will probably not be as strong-minded 
as that. You will argue to yourself somewhat in 
this fashion: 

"Yes, that is all very well ; but it was only a matter 
of sheer chance that the Patent Dingbat is not in 
pile No. 1. To be sure, I did not use it on this par- 
ticular trip ; but in other conditions I might need it 
every day." 

So you take it, and keep on taking it, and once in 
a great while you use it. Then some day you wake 
up to two more bits of camp philosophy, which you 
formulate to yourself about as follows : An article 
must pay in convenience or comfort for the trouble of 
its transportation; and substitution, even imperfect, 
is better than the carrying of special conveniences. 
Then he hurls said Patent Dingbat into the nearest 
pool. 

That hits directly at the weal point of the sporting 
catalogues. Every once in a while an enthusiast 

[15] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

writes me of some new and handy kink he is ready to 
swear by. It is indeed handy, and if one could pluck 
it from the nearest bush when occasion for its use 
arose, it would be a joy and a delight. But carrying 
it four hundred miles to that occasion for its use is 
a very different matter. Tlie sporting catalogues 
are full of very handy kinks. They are good to fool 
with, and think about, and plan over in the off season ; 
but when you pack your duffle-bag 3^ou'd better put 
them on a shelf. 

Occasionally, but mighty seldom, you will find that 
something you need very much has gone into pile 
No. 3. Make a note of it. But do not be too hasty 
to write it down as part of your permanent equipment. 

The first summer I spent in the Sierras I discovered 
that small noon showers needed neither tent nor 
slicker. So next year I left them home, and was, off 
and on, plenty wet and cold. Immediately I jumped 
to the conclusion that I had made a mistake. It has 
not rained since. So I decided that sporadic heavy 
rains do not justify the transportation of two cum- 
bersome articles. Now, when it rains in daytime I 
don't mind getting a little wet — for it is soon over; 
and at night an adequate shelter can be built of the 
tarpaulin and a saddle blanket. In other words, the 
waterproofs could not pa}^ in the course of, say, 
three days' rain in a summer, for the trouble of their 
transportation during four months. 

As I have said, the average man, with the best 
intentions, will not go too light, and so I have laid 
especial emphasis on the necessity of discarding the 
unessential. But there exists a smaller class who rush 
to the opposite extreme. 

[161 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

We all know the type. He professes an inordinate 
scorn for comfort of all sorts. If you are out with 
him, you soon discover that he has a vast pride in 
being able to sleep on cobblestones — and does so, at 
the edge of ^^ellow pines with their long needles. He 
eats badly-cooked food. He stands — or perhaps I 
should say poses — indifferent to a downpour, when 
everyone else has sought shelter. In a cold climate 
he brings a single thin blanket. His slogan seems to 
be: "This is good enough for me!" With the un- 
spoken conclusion: "If it isn't good enough for you 
fellows, you're pretty soft." 

The queer part of it is he usually manages to bully 
sensible men into his point of view. They accept his 
bleak camps and voluntary hardships because they 
are ashamed to be less tough than he is. And in 
town they are abashed before him when, with a su- 
perior, good-natured, and tolerant laugh, he tells the 
company in glee of how you brought with you a little 
pillow-case to stuff with moss. "Bootleg is good 
enough for me !" he cries. And every one marvels at 
his woodmanship. 

As a plain matter of fact, this man is the worst of 
two types of tenderfoot. The greenhorn does not 
know better, but this man should. He has mistaken 
utterly the problem of the wilderness. The wild life 
is not to test how much the human frame can endure — 
although that often enough happens — but to test 
how well the human wits, backed by an enduring 
body, can answer the question of comfort. Comfort 
means minimum equipment ; comfort means bodily 
ease. The task is to balance, to reconcile these ap- 
parently opposing ideas. 

[17] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

A man is skillful at woodcraft just in proportion 
as he approaches this balance. Knowing the wilder- 
ness, he can be comfortable when a less experienced 
man would endure hardships. Conversely, if a man 
endures hardships where a woodsman could be com- 
fortable, it argues not his toughness, but his igno- 
rance or fooHshness, which is exactly the case with our 
blatant friend of the drawing-room reputation. 

Probably no men endure more hardships than do 
those whose professions call them out of doors. But 
they are unavoidable hardships. The cow-boy travels 
with a tin cup and a slicker; the cruiser with a 
twenty-pound pack; the prospector with a half- 
blanket and a sack of pilot bread — when he has to. 
But on round-up, when the chuck wagon goes along, 
the cow-puncher has his "roll"; on drive with the 
wagon, the cruiser sends his ample "turkey," and the 
prospector with a burro train takes plenty to keep 
him comfortable. Surely even the Tough Youth 
could hardly accuse these men of being "soft." 

You must in this matter consider what your means 
of transportation are to be. It would be as foolish 
to confine your outfit for pack-horses to the equip- 
ment you would carry on your own back in the forests 
as it would be to limit yourself to a pack-horse outfit 
when traveling across the country in a Pullman car. 
When you have a horse it is good to carry a few — a 
very few — canned goods. The corners of the kyacks 
will accommodate them; and once in a blue moon a 
single item of luxury chirps you up wonderfully and 
gives you quite a new outlook on life. So you chuck 
them in, and are no more bothered by them until the 
psychological moment. 

[18] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

On a walking trip, however, the affair is different. 
You can take canned goods, if you want to. But 
their transportation would require another Indian; 
another Indian means more grub and more equip- 
ment ; and so at the last you find yourself at the head 
of an unwieldy caravan. You find it much pleas anter 
to cut the canned goods, and to strike out with a 
single companion. 

After all, it is an affair of common sense ; but even 
common sense, when confronted by a nev/ problem, 
needs a certain directing. I do not claim that my 
way is the only way, nor am I rash enough 
to claim it is the best way. But it is my way, and if 
anyone will follow it he will be as comfortable and 
as well suited as I am, which is at least better than 
going it blind. 



[19] 



Comfort in Camp 

By 

Franic a. Bates ("Matasiso") 
Author of ''Game Birds of North America,'' etc. 



THE first night that you are in camp will prob- 
ably be destitute of many of the conveniences, 
for you seldom get well settled. About all 
that is really necessary is to get the beds well estab- 
lished and a light supper prepared. 

The next day get all the camp luxuries fixed. 
Make some hooks on the trunks of the nearest trees 
to hang the odds and ends on. These may be nails, 
or they may be forked twigs pinned to the wood. 
Sort out the provisions and put them where they will 
keep sweet and dry.t Do not lay the pork on the 
sugar bag, nor the salt against anything else. 

The beds are of prime necessity. If you must 
economize on anything, let it not be on the bedding. 
If you are where you can get plenty of fir or spruce 



*By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 

•j-An expert states that meat hung 25 or 30 feet from the 
ground is always safe from blow-flies, "which," says he, "ap- 
parently never rise to that height." Such an arrangement may 
not, however, always be convenient. — Ed. 

[20] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

boughs, you have the finest bed in the world. Cut 
a large supply and spread it over the sleeping place. 
Start with the larger pieces and lay a row along the 
head of the bunking-place. Then work toward the 
foot, lapping them like shingles, till the bed is at 
least seven feet long. Next start again at the head 
and put on another layer, forcing the butts down 
into the first layer. Continue this process, using 
smaller branches with each layer, and finishing off 
with the fine tips on top. Make this bed as thick 
as you can, for it will settle with use. When you have 
nothing else to do, put some more fir-tips on the top. 
Lay the rubber blankets on this mattress, and make 
up each man's blanket separately, so that he can 
easily crawl into it and cover up without disturbing 
the others. 

If fir "browse" is scarce or absent, make a pole bed. 
Cut four sticks with a crotch at one end. These 
sticks should be at least three inches in diameter. 
Force them into the ground so that the head and foot 
of the bed will be about seven feet apart; and have 
them so placed that poles, also not less than three 
inches in diameter, may be laid in the crotches across 
the head and foot. Across the poles lay other smaller 
ones close together till the frame is wide enough to 
accommodate the party. On this foundation lay the 
brush or dry leaves. 

When nothing else is available, and I am in a camp 
that is to be permanent, I generally buy a bale of 
cheap hay if I can get it. There is sometimes a farmer 
who can supply it, or it can be obtained at the point 
of disembarkation and brought in with the luggage. 
This may seem fussy, but I am supposed to be writ- 

[21] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ing in part for the benefit of people who are ac- 
customed to soft beds, and who come to camp to en- 
joy themselves. If you wish to "rough it," spread 
your blanket for one night on the ground beneath 
the starry sky. The next night you will have a 
bed made. 

A convenient bed is made of a strip of canvas 6^2 
feet square, doubled and sewn together at the sides, 
with the ends open. When you put it up, drive four 
crotched sticks into the ground at the four comers 
and stretch the canvas on poles placed on the 
crotches. 

The next important adjuncts are the fires. It 
may seem almost superfluous to tell a man how to 
build a fire; but "It takes a wise man or a fool to 
make a good fire," is an old saying. I take it the 
reader classes himself as neither. The cooking-fire 
will be the most important. If you have flat stones, 
lay up a fireplace, placing the stones close enough 
together so that the fire will play all around the 
kettle, and with space enough for the hanging of 
two pots. It is a good idea to have a low place in 
front wide enough to set the fry-pan on the coals. 
This will save your holding the pan in your hand all 
the time you are using it. 

If you are in a penmanent camp where there are 
plenty of rocks, build a pier of stones about three 
feet high, leaving a hollow in the centre for a fire- 
place, which may have a bottom of turf. This device 
will save a good many back-aches. Make the fire- 
place at the back a little narrower than the fry-pan, 
and wider at the front. On this you may boil your 
potatoes, make your cofFee, and fry your fish at the 

[33] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

same time. The rocks will hold the heat, and food 
may be kept warm while waiting if care is taken to 
have the stones on the top flat and level; in fact, I 
have often stewed fruit, etc., with the dish resting on 
the edge of the fireplace. 

In temporary camp, cut three logs, about a foot 
in diameter; lay one for a back-log, two for side- 
logs ; build your fire on top with small stuff, and 
when it falls in coals you have a convenient place to 
set your fry-pan, coffee-pot, etc. Remember that a 
small fire is better than a large one. With a large 
one you cook your face more than your food, and 
there is more liability of spoiling the cooking. 

Hard wood is better than pine or spruce. The 
coals are what you want, and the longer they remain 
hot the better for the cook. By no means use hem- 
lock or cedar, as the sparks fly all over everything, 
burning the towels and the cook, soiling the food, and 
setting fire to the surrounding dry leaves. 

Although I prefer "fry-pan bread," I want an 
oven in which to bake beans, fish, etc., and construct 
it as follows : Dig a hole in the ground, preferably 
on the side of a knoll; line it with rocks, if possible; 
build a fire of hard wood within it and keep up the 
fire for a half hour at least, till the rocks or the sur- 
rounding earth is very hot ; then rake out the coals 
and ashes, leaving from three to four inches of live 
coals and ash in the bottom. Put in whatever you 
have to bake and cover it with the ashes. The length 
of this operation will depend upon so many condi- 
tions that it will be impossible to set a time, but a 
little experience will soon settle the question. 

The evening camp-fire is a great comfort, and is 
[23] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

an altogether different proposition. Select a place 
in front of the tent, but not too near it, and place 
a big log (or pile up several smaller ones with stakes 
to hold them in place) for a back-log. Build the fire 
in front of it. Start the bottom with fine, dry chips, 
branches, or shavings; place larger dry branches on 
these, and top off with good-sized pieces. After the 
fire is well alight, it will consume damp or even green 
wood. The back-log will reflect the heat into the 
tent, and will hold the fire for a long time. 

Suppose that you wake in the morning with a 
steady rain pouring down. Do not try to make a 
shift with cold grub. That is the time 3^ou need a 
warm meal. Put your rubber blanket over your 
shoulders and go out. If you are wise, you will have 
prepared a store of dry, soft wood, which will be 
stored in the tent; but if you have used up your 
supply, or have neglected this precaution, hunt up a 
pine log or dead pine tree, and chop off the outside. 
Inside you will find plenty of dry wood. Rake open 
the ashes in the camp-fire, where you will probably 
find plenty of live coals ; put on your dry chips ; 
cover with pine, fir, or spruce boughs ; blow up the 
fire ; and you will soon have heat enough to keep the 
tent dry, and coals enough to cook by. It will take 
a pretty hard rain to put out a good fire if once under 
headway. 

If there are any mosquitoes, fasten the netting over 
the opening of the tent. Hardwood splinters will do 
the trick. Keep this netting in place as much as 
possible. It is much easier to keep these pests out 
than to get them out afterwards. If they are too 
troublesome, use insect repellent freely. There are 

[24] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

numerous preparations which can be purchased ready- 
made. Most of them answer the purpose very well. 
But if you wish tp make your own, the following 
recipe, furnished me by Dr. L. O. Howard, the United 
States entomologist, is easily mixed and very good: 
Two oz. oil of citronella, two oz. camphor, one oz. 
oil of cedar. The recipe furnished by "Nessmuk," 
one of the best old sportsmen that the country ever 
knew, is as follows : Pine tar, three oz. ; castor oil, two 
oz. ; oil pennyroj'al, one oz. Simmer the tar and cas- 
tor oil together; when these are well amalgamated, 
add the oil of penn3Toyal, and set to cool. It is well 
not to have the mixture too warm when the penny- 
royal is added, because the pennyroyal, the real life 
of the mixture, may evaporate. Bottle and cork tight- 
Iv. Use copiously and j^ou will have no trouble with 
the pests of the woods. This mixture is equally effica- 
cious for black-flies, mosquitoes, or horse-flies, and 
will do no injury to the skin. Please wash your 
hands, however, before vou mix the bread. 



[25: 



Outfits 



THE manner of outfit is widely debated and 
must be decided upon for any given indi- 
vidual or party after experience and experi- 
ment. In an article in "Outing," Dillon Wallace, 
the well-known expert, had this to say: "It is not 
necessary to enjoyment and comfort that one be 
provided with large or expensive outfit. I have al- 
ways found the simplest the best. Too much of the 
paraphernalia of civilization robs a camp of much 
of its charm. No small part of the pleasure of 
camping is derived from the necessity to improvise. 
"As an adequate outfit for two I would suggest the 
following : 

General : 
A waterproof tent, 71/4x7%, with sod-cloth. . . .$8.00 

Rope for pitching tent and general use 50 

Waterproof ground-cloths for tent-floor 3.75 

1 % axe 1.00 

Stone for sharpening axe and knives , . . .25 

Soap, towels, and matches. 

[26] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

"I would recommend having the tent-front fitted 
with mosquito-netting. The outfitter where the tent 
is purchased will do this, or it may easily be done at 
home." 

To this he added as follows : 

Cooking and Kitchen Utensils : 

2 3-quart kettles. 

1 2-quart kettle for coffee-pot. 

1 fry-pan. 

1 large pan for mixing and for dish-pan. 

1 wash-basin. 

1 large stirring-spoon. 

4 small spoons. 

3 cups. 

Knives and forks. 

1 small butcher-knife. 

"An aluminum folding baker," he continued, "will 
be found a great convenience. These are worth about 
$3.50. With but little experimenting one can roast 
and bake very well, however, before an open fire. 
Aluminum pots, kettles, cups, spoons, etc., will not 
tarnish, are very light, and last indefinitely; but are 
rather expensive. Where weight is not to be espe- 
cially considered, ordinary enamel-ware will answer 
just as well, however, and the cost is inconsiderable." 

Wallace further recommended for each camper: 

A pair of gray wool blankets of good quality. 

Light-weight woolen underclothing. 

A blue or gray flannel shirt. 

A pair of old trousers. 

A sweater or old coat. 

Stout footwear. 

[27] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

We also present, immediately following, a list that 
has been carefully compiled for two persons for two 
weeks of canoe travel. This list is the result of sev- 
eral years of experiment and elimination. The grub- 
list is to be supplemented by fish. 



In Grip 
(Carried by individual on railway journey.) 
Nightclothes Extra suit underwear 

3 collars Tie 

Shirt 4 handkerchiefs 

1 pair extra socks Shaving-kit 

Hair-brush and comb Clothes-brush 

Clothes, Etc. 
(Shipped in trunk, with exception of watch, money, 
and tooth-brush.) 
Worn or carried on person in ivoods : 
Hat Kerchief 

Flannel shirt Suit underwear 

Trousers Belt 

Socks ^ Watch 

Shoes (Pouch) 

Compass Knife 

Pencil Memo, book 

Match-box Handkerchief 

Money (Pipe) 

Extra for personal use in woods : 
Moccasins 2 pairs socks 

Underwear (1 suit) Sweater 

Tooth-brush Comb 

Handkerchief 
[28] 



J 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 



General Outfit 

(Shipped in trunk, with exception of camera and a 

few film-rolls.) 



Tent 


Tent-poles 


Bed 


Blankets 


Knapsack 


Revolver, cleaner, 


Cartridges 


and oil 


Fishing-tackle 


Landing-net 


Grub-bags 


Tump 


Ax 


Lantern 


12 candles 


Rope 


Twine 


Medicines, bandages. 


Soap 


gauze, etc. 


Whetstone 


Sponge 


Pneumatic carrier Camera 


Films 


Maps 


3 towels 


Books 


Tooth-paste 


Drinking-c{ip 


Mosquito "dope 


" Glass jars (in which Dehy- 


Toilet-paper 


dro products are put to 


Pack-basket 


soak) 




Cooking Outfit 




( Shipped in trunk. ) 


Aluminum kit 


Salt and pepper cellars 


Strainer 


Can-opener 


Swab 


Knife 


Cake-turner 


Dish-towels 



Reflector 

Grub-List 

(Partly shipped in trunk, partly purchased at point 

of embarkation.) 
Bacon, 10 lbs. Flour, 10 lbs. 

[^9] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 



Com meal, 2 lbs. 

Erbswurst 

Sugar, 5 lbs. 

Butter, 1 lb. 

Salt 

Curry 

Matches 

Soup greens* 

Tomato soup* 

Cheese 

Canned tomatoes, 2 cans 

Strawberry jam, 1 jar 

Orange marmalade, 1 jar 

Tea, 1/2 lb. 

Cranberries, 1 can* 

Prunes, 2 lbs. 

Nuts, 2 lbs. 

Coffee, 1/2 lb. 

Onions* 

Peanut-butter, % lb. 

Hand Sapolio 

Eggs, 1 doz. 

*Dehydro product. 



Rice, 2 lbs. 

Bread 

Lard, 1 lb. 

Milk-powder, 2 cans 

Pepper 

Spice 

Saxine, 3 bottles 

(sugar substitute) 
Baking powder, small can 
Baked beans, 2 cans 
Canned peaches, 1 can 
Plum jam, 1 jar 
Honey, 1 can 
Eating chocolate, 2 lbs. 
Apricots, 1 lb. 
Currants, 1 lb. 
Raisins, 3 lbs. 
Potatoes* 
Carrots* 
(Tobacco) 
3 lemons 
Tapioca 



[30] 



Suggestions for the Sportsman's 
Outfit 

By 
A. K. P. Haevey 

AutJior of ''In the Glow of the Camp-Fire'' 
Clothing and Bedding 

IN the selection of clothing, comfort should be the 
chief consideration. A trip to the woods is no 
drawing room occasion, but the sportsman 
should dress in a neat and presentable manner. 

A pair of strong, well-made waterproof leather 
boots, reaching halfway to the knee, can be pur- 
chased of any dealer in sporting-goods, and are in- 
dispensable. These are sufficient, unless you intend 
to fish streams ; then it is well, also, to have a pair of 
rubber wading-boots. Light woolen or cotton hose 
may be used. Full-length trousers or knee breeches 
made to wear with belt, and of strong, closely-woven 
fabric, which does not easily tear; a jacket of the 
same fabric or of corduroyt ; shirts of soft material ; 
and a soft hat or cap complete the outfit. 

For an extended trip a rubber blanket, to be 
spread on the ground or on the bough bed, a 

*By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 

tMany object to corduroy, saying that it is not warm; that 
when wetted it remains damp for a long time; and that for 
hunting it is too noisy. — Ed. 

[31] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

woolen blanket, and an air-pillow, will add much to 
your comfort. It is impossible to lay do^vn hard- 
and-fast rules, and while this outfit answers every 
purpose, it may be vaiied to suit the taste and the 
means of the individual. 

Fishing-Tackle 

Fishing-tackle need not be expensive: the two es- 
sentials to be kept in mind in selecting it are sim- 
plicity and excellence. However short the time in 
which you intend to fish, at least two rods, not costly, 
but of good quality, are needed — a bait-rod and a 
fly-rod. The bait-rod, which will answer for stream 
fishing or for trolling, must be eight feet and a half 
or nine feet in length, and may be made of split 
bamboo, lancewood, or (preferably) metal. 

Much has been said and written on the subject of 
fly-rods, some preferring one weighing at least seven 
ounces and a half, others taking the opposite ex- 
treme and advocating one three and a half or four 
ounces in weight. The latter, however, is valuable 
only as a novelty, for it is too delicate for good 
casting, and soon loses its elasticity. The best rod 
which can possibly be made for general use is of split 
bamboo, nine feet long, and weighing five ounces and 
a half or six ounces ; it is strong enough to cast a 
medium-sized line and its elasticity is almost per- 
fect. 

The question of reels is especially important. A 
strong, well-made multiplying reel, with a balanced 
handle, holding 100 yards of line, is best for success- 
ful trolling with a bait-rod. Some prefer a larger 
one, capable of carrying 200 yards, or even more, 

[32] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

but it is unnecessary; and in ordinary fishing from 
rowboats or canoes, 200 feet of line is really all 
that is desirable. In angling successfully for trout 
or salmon it is essential that the reel be well con- 
structed and run easily. Such a reel will also answer 
for stream fishing; although for that a small, light 
reel, carrying 25 yards of line, is preferable. The 
reel for a fly-rod should be a carefully-selected quad- 
ruple multiplier, with a capacity of 75 yards. The 
best material is aluminum ; it is easy-running, and its 
weight compares well with that of the rod. 

Do not try to save money in the purchase of reels. 
Nothing is more annoying than to lose a good-sized 
fish when the battle is half fought out because of 
the imperfect working of a cheap reel. 

The line for a bait-rod should be of braided water- 
proof silk of medium weight, and it should be care- 
fully tested before being wound upon the reel. That 
for a fly-rod may be of medium or light weight, ac- 
cording to the taste of the user. A medium-weight 
line casts better, although a light one should be 
used if the rod weighs less than five ounces. 

Gutted hooks should always be used, whether for 
stream fishing or for trolling. Their size will de- 
pend wholly upon the waters you are visiting. 

Bait 
The subject of flies has been much discussed. Any 
tackle-dealer will exhibit myriads of fancifully-col- 
ored products that put nature to the blush. In the 
mist of this multitude of white, yellow, rainbow- 
hued, and strongly-recommended anomalies are four 
flies of actual value to the sportsman — the Parma- 

[33] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

cheeiie belle, the brown hackle, the silver doctor, and 
the Montreal. A Parmacheene belle at the end of a 
four-foot leader, with the brown hackle in the middle 
and the silver doctor at the top, is an excellent 
combination. Now and then the Montreal is pref- 
erable to the brown hackle, or, if the day is very 
light, it may be used in place of the silver doctor; 
but even this is hardly necessary. When fish will 
rise to any fly, they will to one of these four; and 
with these you can take trout in any waters, at any 
time of day, or on any kind of day, better than with 
any and all others that have ever been put on the 
market. This strong statement is verified by an ex- 
perience of twenty years in the use of this delicate 
bait, and I desire that the reader be spared the ex- 
pense and annoyance to which I have been sub- 
jected. 

Every artificial bait for trolling is made to imitate 
the minnow ; but in this matter, as in everything else, 
there is nothing equal to the genuine thing. The 
minnow is the natural food of the trout and the sal- 
mon, and, therefore, the best bait that can possibly 
be used for trolling for large fish. It can almost 
always be obtained on the grounds or in some neigh- 
boring stream, and may be dipped up with a net or 
caught on a small baited hook. 

Worms, or flies baited with worms, are excellen* 
bait for trolling in the smaller lakes. For stream 
fishing the angle-worm stands first, although in July 
and August the grasshopper is sometimes preferable. 
Flies cannot be used to advantage unless the stream 
is wide, with plenty of clear space overhead for 
casting. 

[34] 



Suggestions for Hunting- 
Outfits 

(With Special Reference to the Western United 
States) 

By 

TOWNSEND WhELEN 

Grub 

IF there is one place above all others where one 
wants good and appetizing food it is by the 
camp-fire. Physical exertion and exposure on a 
hunting trip demand an amount of food which would 
be almost suicidal to a city business man. I well re- 
member the enormous meals that old Bill Andrews and 
I used to make away with on some of our long hunts. 
We sat down one morning to a mess as follows : Two 
quarts of oat meal, one deer's liver, four bannocks, 
two quarts of tea and a cup of sugar apiece ; and by 
noon Bill was so hungry that he stopped the pack- 
train for lunch. I have carefully kept a list of the 
grub bought at the start, and that remaining at the 
end, of each of my hunts and have settled on the 
following list as being perfectly satisfactory not only 
to myself but to all others with whom I have camped. 
It is calculated on the basis of one man for one 
month for use in a country where meat and fish are 

[35] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

a surety. I also give the prices as we found them 
sixty miles from the railroad. 

17 lbs. flour at $ .04 

11 lbs. sugar at 72 

5 lbs. rice at 10 

5 lbs. beans at 05 

S lbs. bacon at 25 

10 lbs. oat or corn meal at 05 

l/o lb. tea at 60 

3 lbs. salt at 05 

5 lbs. prunes or apples at 22 

2 lbs. onions at 05 

1 oz. black pepper at 10 

5 lbs. sweet chocolate at 40 

5 cans evaporated cream at 15 

1 can baking powder 25 

2 bars laundry soap 10 

1 can sulphur matches 10 

Some will at once notice the large amount of 
sugar and the small amount of bacon on this list. 
When men are undergoing great exertion in the open 
air, particularly in a cold climate, their taste for 
sugar excels anything anyone can imagine. The 
history of Alaska and the northwest is full of murders 
and fights occasioned entirely by "sugar hogging" 
(i. e., one man of the party eating more than his 
share of the sugar). The bacon on this list is in- 
tended only for the beans. The best of tallow for 
frying can be rendered from the fat of deer and other 
large animals. The items on this list are not nu- 
merous, but a good camp cook can get up a surpris- 
ingly large number of dishes from them. For in- 
stance, bread, biscuit, corn bread, pancakes, com 

[36] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

cakes, oatmeal cakes, rice cakes, rice pudding, apple 
pie, prune pie, and fifty other combinations. 

This amount of grub can be easily carried with a 
pack-train; but when one undertakes to pack it on 
his own back it becomes an entirely different proposi- 
tion. In this case he must combine the greatest 
energy with the least weight and bulk. On a long 
packing trip we need food that will have the best 
effect in counteracting the results of an "all-meat" 
diet and also prevent constipation. Pinole (parched 
corn ground to a coarse flour) , oat meal, or corn meal 
are all excellent foods for use with meat. White 
flour is really the very worst of all because it has a 
low food value and is constipating. Tea is needed 
as a stimulant, with crystalose (a form of saccha- 
rine) to sweeten it. Crystalose comes in very small 
pills. One pill has the sweetening power of one lump 
of sugar and an ounce of the stuff will equal fifty 
pounds of sugar. A small amount of sweet chocolate 
should also be included to satisfy the craving for 
sweets and as an energy producer. These articles, 
with a small bag of salt, represent the simplest ef- 
ficient ration. 

Pack-Saddles 
First and foremost the pack-saddle should fit the 
horse. That having been accomplished, half your 
troubles are over. The bars should bear evenly on 
their entire under surface on the horse's back; and 
the forward (pommel) cross-trees should be high, 
enough to escape the horse's withers with absolute 
surety, but no higher. The keeping of the saddle in 
correct position on the horse should be insured by 

[37] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

good double cinches and by breast and breeching 
straps. The breast strap should not cut off the 
horse's wind nor should the breeching strap be con- 
tinually abrading the under side of its tail. The 
bars should be covered on the under side with sheep 
skin (with the fleece on) to keep the blankets from 
slipping and also to soften the bars. Every piece of 
leather should be attached to the wooden tree so that 
it is almost impossible to tear it loose. With the 
saddle is needed a hitch-rope, about l/2-inch wide 
and 12 yards long, with cinch and hook on one end. 
If alforjas with loops for the cross-trees are not used, 
a lash-rope, one-quarter of an inch wide and 9 to 
10 yards long, is also necessary. Hobbles, bell, and 
neck-rope (or rope halter) are needed for each horse. 

Back-Packs 
On the principle that when we pack on our back we 
must discard every unnecessary ounce, I believe that 
the best arrangement is to wrap the entire pack in the 
bedding and to secure it to the back by a pack- 
haiTiess. Get a harness that fits your shoulders, and 
that by experiment you know will not abrade. Some 
men use a tump-line in combination with the shoulder- 
straps and claim that the weight can thus be divided 
or shifted. I would recommend trying this, although 
I personally dislike a tump-line. It seems to me to 
be unnecessary for a pack weighing under sixty 
pounds. The harness should be so adjusted to the 
pack that the latter will lie snugly against the back 
and shoulders. The pack should not be high enough 
to push one forward and, above all, should not rest 
on the small of the back and be loose on the shoulders. 

[38] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

When a long tramp is under consideration, a great 
deal depends upon how the pack is adjusted. 

In making up the pack I place the food in small 
waterproof silk bags. These, with the other small 
things, are placed in a flour sack, which answers 
for a pillow at night. The sleeping-bag and shelter- 
cloth are wrapped around this sack, the hand-axe tied 
on the outside, and the whole secured by the pack- 
harness. 

Check-Lists 

The following list I have found to be just about the 
limit in weight for a back-packing trip of a month in 
a region where meat and fish are a certainty. Plenty 
of endurance, strength, and a knowledge of wood- 
craft are also necessary. 

Worn — Stetson hat, buckskin shirt and trousers, 
moccasins, woolen underwear and socks, gloves, neck- 
handkerchief, cartridge-belt with 50 cartridges, and 
sheath-knife. 

Pockets — Pocket-knife, compass, watch, water- 
proof match-box, pipe, tobacco-pouch, handkerchief, 
field cleaner, toilet-paper. 

Carry — Rifle with magazine filled. Pack compris- 
ing the following: Pack-harness, 1 lb. 4 oz. ; shelter- 
cloth, 1 lb. 12 oz. ; sleeping-bag, 8 lb. 12 oz. ; hand- 
axe in sheath, 2 lbs. ; cleaning-rod, 9 oz. ; flour-sack, 

5 oz. ; oil-can, 2 oz. ; bag of flannel cleaning-patches, 
2 oz. ; whetstone and awl, 5 oz. ; housewife and darn- 
ing cotton, 3 oz. ; fishing-line and six hooks, 4 oz. ; 
comb, tooth-brush, and tooth-paste, 5 oz. ; soap and 
towel, 8 oz. ; 1 pair moccasins, 2 pair socks, % lbs. ; 

6 pairs half-soles for moccasins, 1 lb. ; quart alum- 

[39] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

inum kettle and cup, 1 lb. ; U. S. A. mess-pan, 15 oz. ; 
pepper shaker and 2 spoons, 4 oz. ; crystalose, 2 oz. ; 
tea, 8 oz. ; salt, 1 lb. ; sugar, 4 lbs. ; pinole, or oat 
meal, com meal, or other cereal, 10 lbs. ; prunes or 
dried apples, 5 lbs. ; rice, 2 lbs. ; sweet chocolate, 2 
lbs. ; can of matches, 1 lb. The total weight of this 
pack is 47 lbs. 

This makes a pack which one of ordinary strength 
can carry all day — when he becomes used to it. It 
represents the absolute essentials, without which it is 
unsafe to venture into the w^ilderness for more than a 
week at a time. The food-list has been figured out 
very closely. For instance, the 10 pounds of oat 
meal will just about last for forty large meals. The 
prunes and rice are intended for only a meal every 
five days. Very few meals indeed will have to be com- 
posed of meat straight. A diet entirely of fresh meat 
and fish, however, is not half so bad as it would seem. 
A healthy man soon becomes accustomed to it, and 
especially in a cold chmate, it seems to supply every 
want better than any single other article of diet. 

There is much to be said in favor of back-packing. 
It increases many fold that sense of absolute free- 
dom which is one of the fundamental reasons why men 
try to escape from civilization for a time. There is 
none of that trouble and worry that we all experience 
when we have the responsibility of a pack-train. I 
admit that back-packing, especially in a mountainous 
country, is downright hard work ; but it's work worthy 
of a man ; and once you get into your game country, 
you have very much less work than has he who must 
be continually watching and caring for a band of 
horses. Moreover, the back-packer usually has bet- 

[40] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ter success. He drops into a new country quietly and 
unseen. There is none of that clatter of hoofs, jingle 
of horse-bells, and noise of chopping. Before the 
games comes to know that there is a human being in 
the country, he has had his pick. 

And the thing is perfectly feasible. Our history 
is full of cases of men having lived for months — yes, 
for years — entirely on what they carried on their 
backs. Daniel Boone, on his first journey into Ken- 
tucky, subsisted in that virgin wilderness for two 
years upon what he carried on his back — probably a 
rifle, powder-horn, bullet-pouch, flint-and-steel, 
blanket, knife, small axe, and a bag each of pinole and 
salt. The only outside supplies he received in all this 
time was a little additional ammunition brought by 
his brother. Venison, berries, nuts, and pinole were 
his mainstay. He was indeed a true man, well versed 
in woodcraft. 

Again, Hearne, the early Canadian explorer, was 
for over a j^ear in the Coppermine country. He 
traveled from the mouth of the Coppermine River to 
Lake Athabaska, between the middle of July and Oc- 
tober, on foot and without canoes. During this time 
he and his large party of Indians were without pro- 
visions of any kind and lived on meat straight. 

The problem of transportation on a western big- 
game hunt is a constant one. The country is open 
and one locality soon becomes hunted out. The re- 
ports of the rifles, the sound of axes, and the shouts 
as the horses are daily driven to camp, soon cause the 
game to leave for more healthful country. Hence 
camp must be moved from ten to twenty miles 
every three or four days. It has always seemed that 
■ [41] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

one could hunt longer in one locality, and make these 
short journeys more easily, if he could forsake the 
pack-train for the back-pack. The latter method is 
a necessity when one wants to hunt a country inac- 
cessible to horses. On some of my most successful 
hunts, from the standpoint of both recreation and 
heads, I have hired a pacer to take me in and bring 
me out, but in the meantime have carried my entire 
hunting where I would. 



[43] 



Grub-Lists 

A SYMPOSIUM 

IN regard to lists of provisions there is a wide dif- 
ference of opinion and we can do no better here 
than to quote suggestions of several eminent 
authorities, based on many years of experience in 
outfitting and camping. The almost invariable error 
of the novice is to carry far too large a bulk of 
provisions and to carry it in a heavy and unhandy 
form. When much packing is to be done, it is always 
best to make very close calculations, to eliminate as 
many luxuries as possible, and to carry what is taken 
in as compact and adjustable a form as circumstances 
will permit. 

For 1 Person 1 Week in a Movable Camp: 
Flour, 7 lbs. ; pork, 5 lbs. ; tea, 1-5 lb. ; beans, 2 lbs. ; 
sugar, 1% lbs.; rice, l^/o lbs.; prunes and raisins, 
11/2 lbs ; lard, 1-10 lb. ; oatmeal, 1 lb. ; baking powder, 
matches, soap, pepper, salt. Total weight, a little 
over 20 Ihs.—Stewart Edward White ("The For- 
est"). 

For 1 Person 10 Days in a Movable Camp: 6 
lbs. of hard bread, 7 lbs. ham, bacon, or pork, 2 lbs. 

[43] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

dried fruit, 2 cans condensed milk, 1/2 lb. salt, 2 lbs. 
sugar, 1 lb. coffee, % lb. tea.— F. A. Bates ("Camp- 
ing and Camp Cooking"). 

For 1 Person 1 Month in a Movable Camp : 15 
lbs. flour (includes flour, pancake flour, com meal in 
proportion to suit), 15 lbs. meat (bacon or boned 
ham), 8 lbs. rice, % lb. baking powder, 1 lb. tea, 2 
lbs. sugar, 150 saccharine tablets, 8 lbs. cereal, 1 lb. 
raisins, salt and pepper, 5 lbs. beans, 3 lbs. or % doz. 
erbswurst, 2 lbs. or % doz. dried vegetables, 2 lbs. 
dried potatoes, 1 can baker's eggs. — Stewart Edward 
White ("Camp and Trail"). 

For 1 Person 10 Days in a Permanent Camp: 

2 lbs. crackers, 5 lbs. flour, 8 lbs. meal, % lb. baking 
powder, 4 lbs. ham, bacon or pork, 2 cans corned 
beef, 1 lb. dried fruit, 3 cans fruit, 3 cans condensed 
milk, 1 lb. rice, 1 quart pea beans, % peck potatoes, 
1 quart onions, % lb. salt, 1 oz. pepper, 1 lb. butter, 

3 lbs. sugar, 1 lb. coffee, % 1^. tea. — F. A. Bates 
("Camping and Camp Cooking"). 

For 4 Persons 2 Weeks in a Movable Camp : 
List A — Flour, 24 lbs. ; corn meal, 10 lbs. ; beans, 
6 lbs. ; erbswurst, 1/^ lb. : bouillon-capsules, 1 box ; 
lentils, 2 lbs. ; sugar, 9 lbs. ; baking powder, 1 small 
can; coffee, 2 lbs.; butter, 6 lbs.; pork, 10 lbs.; 
shredded codfish, 1 lb. ; evaporated cream, 7 cans ; 
oatmeal, 2 lbs.; rice, 6 lbs.; julienne, 1 lb.; soup- 
tablets, % doz. ; evaporated apples, 2 lbs. ; evapo- 
rated apricots, 2 lbs.; salt, 1 lb.; chocolate powder 
(or cocoa), 1 lb.; tea, 1 lb.; bacon, 3 lbs.; shelled 
nuts, 1 lb. ; potatoes and onions, as desired ; pepper 
and mustard, small cans. — D. T. Ahercromhie ("Rod 
and Gun in Canada," May, 1903). 

r44] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

List B — 30 lbs. flour (including rye meal, buck- 
wheat, corn meal, etc.; no bread being taken), 10 
lbs. rice, 20 lbs. pork, ham, or bacon, 5 lbs. lard, 
10 lbs. sugar, 2 lbs. tea, 3 lbs. coffee, 8 lbs. beans, 10 
cans evaporated milk, 10 lbs. butter, 5 lbs. dried fruit, 
i/^ bushel fresh potatoes. — Edward Breck ("The 
Way of the Woods"). This list assumes that fish or 
game will be secured. A few luxuries may be added. 

List C — M lbs. flour, 10 lbs. com meal, 6 lbs. 
beans, % lb. erbswurst, 1 lb. bouillon-capsules, ^ lbs. 
lentils, 9 lbs. sugar, 1 lb. baking powder, 2 lbs. coffee, 
6 lbs. butter, 10 lbs. pork, 1 lb. shredded codfish, 5 
cans evaporated milk, 2 lbs. oatmeal, 6 lbs. rice, 1 lb. 
julienne, % lb. soup-tablets, 2 lbs. evaporated apples, 
2 lbs. evaporated apricots, 1 lb. salt, 1 lb. chocolate, 
1 lb. tea, 6 lbs. bacon, 4 lbs. dried potatoes, 1 lb. 
shelled nuts, 1^/4 lbs. dried eggs, % lb. dried onions. 
— A prominent firm of outfitters. In connection with 
this list it is stated that, by actual experiment with 
it on various trips, the maximum consumption of 
food per head per day was 1 88-100 lbs. and the 
minimum 1 23-100 lbs. 

For 6 Persons 2 Weeks in a Movable Camp: 

Flour and Flour Products. — Bread, 10 loaves ; flour 
up to 14 lbs. ; white beans, 6 lbs. ; com meal, 5 lbs. ; 
rice, 5 lbs. ; pancake flour, 2 or 3 lbs. ; assorted bis- 
cuits (i. e., crackers), 5 lbs. 

Vegetables. — Potatoes, I/2 bag (or evaporated 
potatoes, 4 lbs.) ; onions, up to 10 lbs. (or evaporated 
onions, 1 lb.). 

MeatSy Soups, Etc. — Bacon, 20 lbs. ; pork, up 
to 20 lbs. ; soup-squares, up to 2 doz. ; beef-extract, 1 
small jar (or bouillon-capsules, box of 10). In case 

[45] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ham or canned moat is taken, this quota of bacon 
may be reduced. 

Dairy Products. — Eggs, 4 doz., or l/o lb. 
desiccated egg; butter (in cans), 10 lbs.; cheese, 2 
or S lbs. ; evaporated cream, 1 doz. cans. 

Relishes. — Prunes, 3 lbs. ; marmalade, 2 lbs. ; 
Worcestershire sauce, 1 bot. ; syrup, 1 can. 

Beverages. — Coffee, 5 lbs. ; tea, 2 lbs. ; cocoa, I/2 lb. 

Sundries. — Baking powder, small can ; sugar, 
15 lbs. ; salt, 1 bag; pepper and mustard, 1 small can 
each; vinegar, 1 bot. 

This list has been closely calculated. The original 
compiler had in mind a partj^ of 4 with 2 guides. 

For 8 Persons 4 Weeks in a Permanent Camp : 

Flour, Flour-Products, and Cereals. — Flour, 84 
lbs. ; com meal, 14 lbs. ; rolled oats, 14 lbs. ; rice, 12 
lbs.; macaroni, 5 lbs.; bread, 15 loaves; assorted bis- 
cuits (i. e.y crackers), about 20 lbs. 

Fruit and Vegetables. — Evaporated apples or 
peaches, 8 lbs. ; prunes, 8 lbs. ; canned fruit, 
1 doz. cans ; potatoes, 2 bushels ; onions, 20 lbs. ; 
white beans, 20 lbs. ; canned vegetables, 1 doz. cans. 

Meats, Soups, Etc. — Bacon, 40 lbs. ; ham, 
20 lbs. ; pork, 20 lbs. ; canned meats, 6 cans ; soup- 
squares and erbswurst (for pea soup), 4 doz.; lard, 

3 lbs. 

Dairy Products. — Fresh eggs, 15 doz. ; but- 
ter (in cans), 24 lbs.; cheese, 6 lbs.; condensed milk 
or cream, 2% doz. cans. 

Relishes and **Spreads''\ — Pickles, 6 bots. ; sauce, 

4 bots. ; maple syrup, 2 qts. ; jam, 15 lbs. ; marmalade, 

5 lbs. 

Beverages. — Coffee, 10 lbs. ; tea, 5 lbs.; co- 
[46] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

coa, 1 lb. To this may be added 8 doz. lemons for 
lemonade. 

Sundries. — Baking powder, 3 lbs. ; yeast, 5 pkgs. ; 
sugar, 30 lbs. ; salt, 15 lbs. ; pepper, 3 cans ; mustard, 
1 can ; vinegar, 1 bot. 

This list has been carefully compiled by a Cana- 
dian expert, an^ compared with several other lists 
based upon practical experience. It may be reduced 
for a movable camp. 

For 10 Persons 1 Week in a Permanent Camp : 

Flour and Flour-Products. — % stone flour; 20 
loaves bread; 1 can soda crackers; 1 can graham 
wafers ; 2 pkgs. rolled oats ; 1 pkg. other cereal ; 3 
pkgs. pancake flour. 

Vegetables. — % doz. cans beans in tomato sauce; 
4 cans peas ; 2 cans tomatoes ; 2 lbs. rice ; 1 lb. sago. 

Meats, Soups, Etc. — 21 lbs. bacon; 3 cans bone- 
less chicken; 3 cans boneless turkey; l/o doz. cans of 
luncheon tongue ; % doz. soup-squares ; 2 pkgs. bouil- 
lon-capsules. 

Dairy Products. — 12 lbs. table butter; 1 doz. cans 
evaporated cream; 6 doz. eggs ; 7 lbs. cooking butter. 

Relishes. — 5 lbs. prunes ; 2 lbs. evaporated 
apricots ; 5 lbs. evaporated apples ; 1 lb. seeded 
raisins ; 8 cakes eating chocolate ; 1 can mustard ; 1 
can pepper; % doz. jars strawberry jam; % doz. 
jars marmalade; 1 bag salt; 4 cans peaches; 1 box 
ginger-chips ; 1 can syrup. 

Beverages. — 2 cans coffee (7 lbs.) ; 3 lbs. tea; 20 
lbs. granulated sugar ; 1 tin cocoa ; 2 doz. lemons for 
lemonade. 



[47] 



Canoes and Canoeing 

By 

Edward Breck 
AutJior of **The Way of the Woods,'' etc. 

THE ideal cruising canoe"^ will accommodate 
two men and a reasonable amount of duffle, 
say 300 to 400 pounds. One 16 feet long 
and weighing 65 to 75 pounds will do this with ease 
and safet3\ I have even used a 15-foot canoe on long 
tours and found it capacious enough, while its light- 
ness (56 pounds) was a boon on portages. For short 
journeys, when little duffle is needed, a 14-foot craft 
will accommodate two men, but it is better to have a 
canoe that can be used for any kind of trip. On 
very long tours, especially when more than two men 
and an extra amount of duffle and provisions must 
be taken, 18 and SO-foot canoes are needed. 

The general shape of the bow of the average canvas 
canoe is a compromise between the ultra-high, curved 

*By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 

fThe writer disapproves of the all-wood canoe. Many, how- 
ever, find the "Peterborough" type, much used in Canadian 
waters, equal, if not superior, to the canvas craft. — Ed. 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

bows of some of the Western Indian craft and the 
quite flat bow of the typical Micmac canoe, though 
more resembling the latter. A slight rise keeps the 
waves from coming too freely over the bow, without 
offering too much freeboard to the wind. 

Canvas canoes are made in two, sometimes three, 
grades, according to the quality of the material used 
and the finish. First-grade 15-foot canoes cost from 
$36 to $41 ; second grade, $28 to 33. First-grade 
16-foot, $38 to $46; second-grade, $30 to $40. The 
tendency of prices is to increase. 

For longer canoes one may reckon $1.50 per foot 
over the 16-foot prices, though this varies slightly. 
The catalogues of the best firms should be consulted. 
Prices are without paddles. From 75 cents to $1.25 
is charged for crating, according to size. Indians 
usually charge about one dollar per foot for a new 
birch-bark canoe, though in some localities the price 
runs higher. See that your craft is made with a good 
fiat bottom ; Indians are apt to make them too round. 
The bottom should be of one piece, otherwise it is 
^ery vulnerable. 

A hardwood keel is essential for every canoe going 
into rough water. Unless it is specially ordered, 
makers do not furnish it. It should be about one- 
half-inch thick, and 21/2 inches wide at the centre, 
according to the size of the canoe, and tapering 
toward each end, where it is screwed under the brass 
bang-strips. The other screws, perhaps 8 inches or 
a foot apart, are put in from the inside, set in the 
white lead. Ash is a good wood. Such a keel, while 
it increases the weight by 2 to 4 pounds, strengthens 
the canoe greatly, and takes a large proportion of 

[49] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

majority of upsets occur when this rule is neglected 
and some sudden movement of one or both men can- 
not be offset by the steadying paddle. In a gale, 
keep as much as possible under lee of islands and 
points. Better still, don't start out at all in such 
weather. 

Canoes are loaded with two objects in view: proper 
trim, and security of the duffle. See that no box or 
bundle chafes the sides, nor slides from side to side. 
Get the load, and particularly the heavy stuff, as low 
in the canoe as possible, to avoid top-heaviness. Hav« 
the receptacles containing provender and cooking 
utensils where they can be got at easily at lunch 
time. Do not pack anything that should be kept dry 
on the very bottom of the canoe, especially if it rains, 
or on a rough lake or in bad rapids. Be sure to leave 
room for the two paddlers' feet and legs. When 
loaded the canoe should float on an even keel, neither 
end being higher than the other. In rapid water, 
however, the bow should be a trifle higher than the 
stem when going up-stream, and the stern a trifle 
higher when going down-stream. Perhaps it would 
be more exact to say that the heavier end should be 
always the down-stream end, whichever direction the 
canoe is going. This makes steering easier. 



[51] 



Animal-Packing 

By 

Charles H. Stoddard 



THE most common method of transportation in 
those regions of the Sierras that lie beyond 
the reach of wagon-roads is on the backs of 
animals — therefore, since we wished to take our vaca- 
tions in the high mountains, it was evident that ani- 
mal-packing must be resorted to. We tried the com- 
fortable camp-wagon so far as wagon-roads extend- 
ed, packing the horses for further excursions into the 
mountains, only to find that valley-raised horses 
could not stand the work on the mountain trails. We 
also tried hiring animals at the various Sierra outfit- 
ting points and these proved better ; but there were 
many shortcomings. The saddles were of cheap con- 
struction and most uncomfortable to ride; the pack- 
saddles and accoutrements were dilapidated and 
totally inadequate. 

After trying different means of transportation we 
decided to acquire for ourselves an entire outfit for 
camping — one that would take us over trails or roads 

[52] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

— and to conform it to our own ideas of comfort and 
convenience. The writer will describe the equipment 
of our burro-train, which we feel comes nearer to 
filling the requirements of the average mountain trav- 
eler than any other rig to be obtained. 

Our search in the mining districts for suitable 
burros we began in the fall, when prospectors and 
campers were closing their season and anxious to 
sell their animals. Thus we were able to get hold of 
seven exceptionally good burros at reasonable 
prices — all young, all used to mountain work, and all 
gentle. Pasture rates for burros are but one-quarter 
of those for horses. Since we proposed to pasture 
the animals for eleven months of each year, this was 
a very important item in considering the selection. 

Burros will pick up a living in regions where a horse 
would starve to death. This is a very good point to 
bear in mind when you are to travel through regions 
where feed is scarce. Occasionally, when in the 
roughest regions, an animal will "go over the grade" ; 
and the writer can assure you that one looks with a 
great deal more complacency upon the loss of a 
fifteen-dollar burro than upon that of a one-hundred- 
dollar horse. Burros have objectionable features, to be 
sure. They are slow (our outfit averages two and 
one-half miles per hour on the trail) . They are stub- 
born at times, especially when deep w^ater is to be 
crossed. But we have found that for campers' use 
their good points far exceed their bad ones. One out 
to enjoy a camping trip should not be in a hurry; 
and as for deep water, although the burro objects to 
being the first to wet his feet, he readily follows 
another animal or his own rider into water, so that 

[531 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

this difficulty can be overcome by having a good 
leader or at the worst by the "boss" shedding some 
of his clothing and wading ahead. Fortunately, we 
secured an exceptional burro for a leader and had no 
trouble in crossing streams — fording some that were 
fully 4 feet deep. 

A dealer had purchased 500 "condemned" army 
saddles; and by selecting from this lot before his 
stock had been greatly reduced, we secured high- 
grade saddles at reasonable prices. We can especially 
recommend army saddles for campers' use. They are 
far superior to the old horn type of saddle, being 
strong and substantial in make-up throughout, light, 
and easy on the animal's back; having straps fore 
and aft for securing articles of all kinds and rings 
on either side for slinging the rifle scabbard, and 
being most comfortable to ride. Uncle Sam is a 
professional camper himself, and his boys must have 
the very best. 

Three of our animals were fitted out with the stand- 
ard "sawbuck" pack-saddle, with good, strong breech- 
ing and breast straps. When the saddle is fitted 
with double cinches, the breast strap may be omitted, 
but in either case the breeching strap is essential. 
A good burro will carry 200 pounds without trouble, 
and our three animals can carry enough supplies for 
a two months' trip. The writer chose to buy three 
animals as a matter of safety. It is well not to put 
all your eggs in one basket ; and burros, when packed 
lightly, can climb better than when heavily loaded. It 
is well to use thick blankets under both types of 
saddle. The saddle will not turn if cinched tightly; 
and furthermore, a sore-backed burro is an exasperat- 

[54] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ing creature, his method of showing his dislike being 
to lie down and "lie tight." 

One pack-saddle is equipped with a pair of "kyaks," 
or sacks, of No. 1 canvas. This canvas comes 22 
inches wide and is very heavy and strong. The 
"kyaks" are 20 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 20 
inches deep ; double-sewed and with reinforcing strips 
across the ends at the top. They are therefore 
strong enough to suspend the weight of the whole 
animal without tearing or ripping, and will stand 
any amount of rough usage. Each "kyak" is fitted 
with a pair of strong leather straps, held in place 
by "keepers" sewed on the sides of the bags. These 
straps have loops at their inner ends, to take the pack- 
saddle crosstrees ; and are long enough to pass over 
the pack and buckle together, thus supporting the 
load. 

"Kyaks" are most excellent receptacles for carry- 
ing bedding, sacks of flour, dry groceries, or articles 
that will not be injured when subjected to the lash- 
rope or blows from rocks by the trail; but they are 
very hard on tinware or cooking utensils, not to men- 
tion canned-goods or glassware. 

The other two pack-saddles are equipped with 
"alforjas," or "grub-boxes." These grub-boxes are 
of the dimensions and shape shown in the diagram 
and are 19% inches long inside. They are made 
entirely of well-seasoned spruce; the sides being %- 
inch and the ends ^-inch thick. Comer strips are 
fitted inside, and screws are used throughout rather 
than nails. The joints are treated with white lead 
to make them tight. It is doubtful if the lead is 
of any advantage as a few sharp cracks against the 

[55] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 



surrounding scenery soon break the joint loose; but 
the corner strips are a good feature, as they allow all 
outside comers to be well rounded. To protect the 
ends from splitting, strips were fitted across them 
on the inside and secured with screws. After com- 
pletion the boxes were painted all over. 

The reader will note the angular back of these 
boxes, designed to obtain a better fit. Padding is 

placed on each box 
to prevent galling 
of the animal's 
side. The cover 
of the box consists 
of two widths 
hinged togethei'. 
B}^ opening these 
covers back on to 
a light poplar sup- 
porting-bar, car- 
ried in the case 
with a fishing rod, 
a most satisfac- 
tory table 21 
inches wide by 36 
inches long is ob- 
tained. An oil- 
cloth cover is car- 
ried in one box. 

Each box is car- 
ried in a canvas 




SIOS.6, Avo eornA or ^"SPRt/cc 



bag of exactly 
the same construction and material as the "kyaks," al- 
ready described, except that one side of these bags 

[56] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

is extended to fold over and cover the top of the 
boxes. These bags are fitted neatly to the boxes 
and provided with straps exactly as are the "kyaks." 
A pair of boxes in their bags, with straps and all 
complete, weigh 40 pounds. 

Both sets of boxes are identical in size and con- 
struction and differ only in internal arrangement — 
one being fitted with a single partition to form a 
medicine-chest, another with a pocket for a glass 
jar, racks for stowing utensils, etc. We use one set 
of boxes to carry the cooking utensils, the dining out- 
fit, and such articles and provisions as are always 
required in preparing and disposing of a meal; 
while in the other set of boxes are carried the pro- 
visions in bulk, the canned-goods, etc. It is a simple 
matter to stow seventy-five pounds of stuff in one of 
these boxes. 

Our clothing we carry in strong sacks tied securely 
at the open end and placed on top of the pack- 
saddles as centre-packs. When all is in place the 
packs are each covered with a canvas "pack-cover" 
and lashed with a picket-rope. In lashing the packs 
we do not use the far-famed "diamond hitch," but a 
simple half-hitch, which holds the packs close to the 
animal's sides and with loops to the front cross-tree 
of the saddle to secure it against turning. During 
a seven weeks' trip not once did a pack slip or turn 
with this tie, although we traveled some very rough 
mountain roads. The sacks of clothing are carried 
on but two saddles, while on the other are carried the 
extra rifle in its canvas case, the fishing-rods, etc. 
The heavier rifle is carried in a scabbard on the lead 
animal. 

[57] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOCm 

Each animal is fitted with a good leather halter 
and a 50-foot picket-rope. For traveling, the picket- 
ropes for saddle animals are coiled and strapped on 
the front of their respective saddles. Ammunition, 
hobbles, bells and other small heavy articles are car- 
ried in canvas saddle-bags. 

The writer has seen "alforjas" made of rawhides 
and sole-leather; and of course, these are the height 
of perfection in their line. Their cost, however, 
is so high as to render them impossible for many 
campers ; and for those who camp but a month or 
two each year the wooden grub-boxes will fill all 
requirements indefinitely. 

The "kyaks" and "alforjas" were made by the 
writer himself at home. The sewing on the canvas 
bags was done with a hand sewing-tool that cost but 
$1.00. The total cost of material entering into the 
set of "kyaks" and two sets of boxes, complete, did 
not exceed $20.00. 



[58] 



What To Do If Lost 

By 

Feank a. Bates ("Matasiso") 

Author of "Stories of Lake, Field, and Forest," 

I HAVE adopted a positive maxim: "Whatevei 
you do, do not get rattled and lose your head." 
I often have had to caution a "novus homo" who 
looked to me for instruction in the woods, to remem- 
ber the above every minute, and to add to it, "Always 
carry a compass and never think that it lies." Most 
people have heard of "local attraction" in the com- 
pass, and they always think they have found it. There 
is only about one per cent, of the country that will 
show anything of the kind, and even then the needle 
would not be deflected enough to carry the traveler 
far astray. If it were deflected, it would keep you 
from wandering in circles, in which lies the greatest 
danger of being lost. 

Now, suppose that you are camping on the shore of 
a lake in the woods and wish to look over the neigh- 
borhood. Your first duty is to look at a map of 
the locality, if you have not already done so, so that 
you may have a general idea of the characteristics 

*By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 
[59] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

of the surrounding country; especially of the trend 
of the hills, the locations of streams or roads, or the 
direction of the coast or lake shore, as related to 
your camp. If you cannot do this, do not go. 

When you find that you do not know where you 
are, and are positive that the sun is setting in the 
east or some other impossible quarter, endeavor to 
make up your mind as to where you are within a 
radius of five miles, and think in which general direc- 
tion lies some river, road, or other landmark. Then 
set up a stick or blaze a tree in that direction. If it 
is not too late in the da^^ make up your mind in 
which direction you ought to go, set your compass, 
take a bearing on some prominent tree or other mark 
in that course, and go to it. If the woods are so 
thick that you cannot pick out a mark, set up a 
peeled stick or blaze a tree once in a while, so that 
you can look back and see your trail. When you 
have gone as far in any direction as you are certain 
of your course, lay out the course again, always hy 
compass, and you will come out at a place that you 
will recognize as on the way to some known point. 

If it is late in the day, do not wander around in 
the dark, but pick out a comfortable place, put down 
some boughs to lie upon and to build a lean-to; 
gather firewood enough to last through the night, or 
as long as you want it to ; and make yourself as 
comfortable as possible until morning. If you are 
fortunate enough to have some lunch with you, you 
will probably get a fair night's sleep. You will not 
starve in one night, and you can usually find some- 
thing to eat, even if it is not so nice. In very few 
places would there be the slightest danger of moles- 

[60] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

tation from any source. Next morning you may fol- 
low the instructions for getting out, as shown in 
the preceding paragraphs. 

Methinks I hear some one say, Suppose you have 
no map, compass, matches, etc. I reason that you 
are a rational being and if you have not these things 
you will not be foolish enough to go out. In the 
case of a hunting party in the deep woods, it is the 
custom among the parties with which I have been 
associated to have a "lost call." We generally sepa- 
rate in the morning to hunt in different sections, 
which are dul}^ allotted beforehand, so that each 
member knows just where the other men ought to be. 
In case any one of them is so overcome with the 
ardor of the chase, or in the following of wounded 
game, that he does not know how to get back to 
camp, he gives the call — three shots of the rifle in 
succession. If not replied to, the lost one starts in 
the direction in which he believes the camp to be situ- 
ated, repeating the signal occasionally. Usually he 
is heard before much time has elapsed, and is an- 
swered. 



[61] 



The Black Bass and His Ways 

By 

Taeleton Bean 

Chief of the Fish a/nd Gaine Department, Louisiana 
Purchase Exposition 

AMONG the most popular food and game fishes 
the small-mouthed black bass. The sraall- 
of North America are the large-mouthed and 
mouthed species is slightly the smaller, and its distri- 
bution is more northerly. It seldom exceeds eight 
pounds, and averages about two and a half, in weight. 
A fish of two and a half pounds will measure fifteen 
inches in length, while one of eight pounds should be 
two feet long. The fish is indigenous to the upper 
parts of the St. Lawrence basin, the Great Lakes re- 
gion, and the basin of the Mississippi. East of the 
Alleghanies it is a native of the headwaters of the 
Ocmulgce and Chattahoochee, but north of these 
streams it has been widely distributed artificially in 
waters to which it is not native. 

[62] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

This bass differs most markedly from tke large- 
mouthed form in the size of its jaws, the shallower 
notch in the dorsal fin, and the smaller scales. It has 
about eleven rows of scales above the lateral line and 
seven below it. Among the many names which have 
been applied to this fish are the following: Growler, 
Lake Bass, Big Bass, Spotted Bass, and Archigan. In 
the Southern States it is known as trout and perch. 

The young are dull yellowish green, the sides mot- 
tled with darker spots, which sometimes form short 
vertical bars. There are three dark spots oa the 
head; the caudal fin is yellowish at the base; there 
is a broad black band near the middle of the tail, and 
a bright whitish margin behind. The dark lateral 
band, characteristic of the large-mouthed species, is 
absent. In the adult the prevailing color is olive 
green, the stripes on the head remaining more or 
less distinct. This bass prefers rapid water of clear, 
pure, swiftly-flowing streams. It is extremely active, 
and thrives at greater elevations than those p.referred 
by the large-mouthed species. 

The food of this fish consists of crawfish, frogs, 
insects and their larvae, minnows and other aquatic 
animals of suitable size. The young can be fed on 
small crustaceans, such as daphnia and cyclops. This 
bass follows its prey into shallow water, and fre- 
quently leaps far out of the water in its efforts to 
escape from the hook, or when frightened by the 
sudden approach of an enemy. It swims in schools, 
and is often found in the shelter of sunken logs and in 
the vicinity of large rocks. It hibernates in the winter, 
ceasing to take food in cold weather, except, perhaps, 
in artificially-heated wator. A number of the young 

[63] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

of the year, received early in October, scarcely fed at 
all in the following winter. 

Spawning begins in March and ends in July. The 
hatching period lasts from seven to fourteen days. 
Many of the females, if not all, discharge only a part 
of their eggs at one spawning. The eggs differ 
greatly in number and size, according to the age and 
size of the fish, varying generally from 2,000 to 
10,000 per fish, and from 80,000 to 100,000 per 
quart. The eggs are bound together in bands or 
ribbons by an adhesive substance. They adhere to 
stones, on which they are deposited. This is a nest- 
building species, and it protects its eggs and young. 
By some writers it is stated that the female prepares 
the nest before the male joins her; others claim that 
the male builds the nest and assumes all the care 
of the eggs and young. The males fight for the 
possession of the female, and are said to help the 
process of ejecting the eggs by biting or pressing 
the belly of the female. 

According to the "Manual of Fish Culture" of 
the United States Fish Commission, both parents 
watch over the nest, one fish hovering immediately 
over it and maintaining a gentle motion of the fins 
for the purpose of keeping the eggs free from sedi- 
ment; the other acting as an outer sentinel, patrol- 
ling eight or ten feet away. Both male and female 
show great courage when guarding their eggs and 
young fry. A black bass while protecting its nest 
nas Deen known to attack and kill a snake three 
times its own length. For the first three to five 
days black bass fry do not average more than one 
quarter inch in length, and are almost colorless until 

\64] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

the pigment forms along the back, making them 
appear quite dark when viewed from above, although 
it is difficult to distinguish the color of the fish when 
caught on a net of bolting-cloth. 

The large-mouthed black bass is also known as 
Oswego Bass, Green Bass, Bayou Bass, Trout, 
Jumper, Chub, and Welshman. It is best distin- 
guished from the small-mouthed bass by the greater 
size of its mouth and the smaller number of rows of 
scales above the lateral line. There are only seven 
to eight rows above, and sixteen below the lateral 
line. In this species the young always have a broad 
lateral band. The adults are greenish above, silvery 
below. 

This bass has a wide distribution, being indigenous 
in Eastern North America from Manitoba to Florida 
and Texas, except in New England and the Middle 
Atlantic States, east of the Alleghanies, where it 
has been extensively introduced. It is found also 
at the mouths of rivers emptying into the Gulf of 
Mexico, where the water is brackish. It inhabits 
fresh- water ponds, lakes, and sluggish streams. 

In Southern waters the average weight of this 
bass is less than five pounds and in Northern waters 
it is still less. In Florida it reaches a large size — 
as much as three feet in length ; and attains a weight 
of twenty-five pounds. This is a very active fish, 
and its movements are aifected by seasonable changes 
and the search for food and spawning grounds. The 
young feed on animal food at an early age. This 
bass is said to be more cannibalistic than the small- 
mouthed species. Small fishes of all kinds, crawfish, 
frogs, insects and their larvae, and aquatic anmials 

[65] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

in general of suitable size make up its diet. It is 
even more destructive to fish than the small-mouthed 
form; it will eat any fish that it can manage to get 
into its mouth, and it will lie on the bottom for days 
so gorged that it cannot stir. In voracity it is only 
equalled, but not excelled, by the pike. 

It feeds both at the surface and on the bottom, 
pursuing its prey with great activity. When sur- 
rounded by seines or caught on hooks it will often 
leap ^\e or six feet out of the water, and its habit 
of jumping over the cork lines of seines has given 
it the name of "Jumper." In cold weather this bass 
seeks deep places, often hibernating under rocks or 
sunken logs, and in the mud. Favorite fishing 
localities are under over-hanging and brush-covered 
banks in the summer, and among aquatic plants, 
where the fish lies in wait for its prey. 

Spawning begins in April and lasts until July. 
The eggs are adhesive, sticking to stones during the 
incubation period, which lasts from one to two weeks 
according to the temperature of the water. The 
young remain in the nest a week or ten days, and 
at the age of about two weeks will measure about 
%-inch in length. In suitable waters it is estimated 
that the large-mouthed bass will weigh, at the age 
of three years, 2 to 4 pounds. There has been a 
great deal of discussion about the relative game 
qualities of the two black basses. There may be 
some difference in this respect between them in cer- 
tain localities, but the writer has taken both species 
in the same lake, and has never been able to detect 
such a difference. 

The bass is usually caught by one of three 
[66] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

methods ; by still-fishing with live bait, by fly-fishing, 
and by surface trolHng. Fly-fishing is at its best 
only in certain months and under favorable condi- 
tions of water and weather. According to WilHam 
C. Harris, it is not necessary to have separate tackle 
for each kind of fishing. An Sy^-foot pliable bait rod 
and 25 yards of braided silk line, tested to about 
15 pounds, may be used for general purposes. To 
this line may be attached a spoon, a hook, or artificial 
flies. The equipment should include 6-foot gut 
leaders, snelled bass hooks of three or four diff^erent 
numbers, a goodly assortment of bass flies, several 
spoons of varying sizes, a landing-net, a gaff", sev- 
eral minnow hooks, and a bait pail. 

In fly-fishing some anglers prefer to wade the 
streams; others make the guide row the boat very 
slowly along the shore, and far enough distant from 
it so that when casting toward the land the flies will 
drop in water a Kttle less than 1% feet deep. In 
trolling it is always better to use a rod and reel 
rather than a hand line, because the enjoyment of 
fishing is thereby greatly increased. It is custom.ary 
to troll with about twenty yards of line, and just 
fast enough to keep the line sHghtly below the sur- 
face. For bait-fishing procure a supply of chub and 
shiners. In some localities stone catfish, hellgTam- 
mites, crickets, crawfish, and fresh-water sculpin 
(or blob) are successfully used. 

The line should be rigged with a snelled hook. 
Anchor the boat in about 12 feet of water, prefer- 
ably in the shadow of the shore or an island. Do not 
attempt to hook the bass as soon as he strikes, but 
let him run with the bait until he has gorged it. The 

[67] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

fish must be hooked sharply, and much care is neces- 
sary in bringing it to the net or gafF. In its strug- 
gles to escape it will often dash to the bottom and 
attempt to break the line under a log or rock ; again 
it will come to the surface, leap out of the water 
repeatedly, and shake itself to loosen the hook. 



[68] 



About Fly-Fishing for 
Brook -Trout 

By 

Charles Bkadford 

Author of ''The Determined Angler^"" ''The Wild- 
Fowlers,''^ etc. 

THE art of catching fishes with artificial lures in 
imitation of natural insects is the most chivalric 
of all methods of angling. Fishes, particularly 
trout, often hook themselves when they seize the fly of 
a fisherman using a pliant rod that will yield and 
spring freely. As the game strikes, the angler strikes, 
hooking the fish swiftly but delicately by a simple 
turn of the wrist. The trout is not flaunted up in the 
air by force, as some coarse perch fishermen lift 
their catch. The trout fisher does not use his arm 
at all in hooking a trout, be3^ond aiding the hand in 
holding the rod for the wrist to do the work. A 
practiced troutman can secure his fish by moving 
his hand five inches — a little backward, nervous 
twist of the wrist. 

Trout often snap a fly and spit it out so quickly 
that the tyro does not have a chance to strike and 



*By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 
[69] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

hook the prize. At other times thej take hold more 
slowly, and afford the beginner more opportunity 
to hook them, and, as I have said, they very often 
hook themselves. The beginner will have some 
trouble in overcoming the excitement or "trout 
fever" that always accompanies the trout's rise and 
strike, but experience will gradually make him more 
calm and active at this important moment. The tyro 
trout fisher is often more frightened at the rise of 
the trout than he would be at the flush of a noisy 
grouse or the springing of a surprised deer. 

When you have hooked the fish, always handle 
him as if he were but lightly secured. Do not 
attempt to lift him out or yank him up to you. Keep 
the line gently taut, and softly lead the prize out 
of rough water or away from stones, grasses, logs, 
or tree branches. Do not let him come to the sur- 
face until he is pretty well exhausted and you are 
about to put him in the landing-net. If he is a 
large fish, tov»^ him ashore if the water edge will 
pennit. Where there are overhanging banks this 
cannot be done. Do not be in a hurry to get him out 
of the water. Be calm and work carefully. 

If you are using a click reel, and the fish is large 
enough to overcome the click and run off the 
line, let him do so, but check him and guide 
him according to any obstruction there may be. 
When he has rushed here and there for some 
little time with his mouth open and with a con- 
stant check (the line should always be taut), he 
will become tired, and when he is tired he will not 
rush. Then softly reel him in, being careful not to 
let him come in contact wdth a stone or weed, which 

[w] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

is sure to arouse him again. Reel him up until your 
leader touches the tip of the rod. Then, if the 
leader is of the correct length and if the rod is 
properly pliant, he will be near enough for you to 
put your landing-net under him, tail first, as all fish 
should be netted. Do this quickly, without making 
a splashing swoop, and he will soon grace your creel. 

Several persons expressed an objection to a list 
of flies I once named in an outdoor periodical, saying 
that a good angler might kill just as many trout on 
a quarter the number. Any angler can take even 
less than one-quarter of the enumerated list and 
catch fully as many brook-trout as one who might 
use all of the flies mentioned — if he can pick out the 
ones the trout are rising to without trying them all 
until he discovers the killing ones. A chef might 
please his master with one or two of forty courses 
billed, if he knew what the man wanted. Sometimes 
an angler can judge the appropriate fly to use by 
observing nature in seeing trout rise to the live fly ; 
but there are times when trout are not rising — times 
when they are tired of the fly upon the water, and 
times when the real fly is not on the wing. Then 
the angler is expected to take matters in his own 
hands and whip about quietly until he discovers the 
proper thing. It is better to try for the right ones 
with a list of twenty-nine than whip over a list of 
a thousand or more. 

I have learned from experience that trout, like 
human beings, are in love with a variety of foods at 
diff^erent times. Their tastes change with the 
months, the weeks, the days, the hours ; and, under 
certain conditions which I will presently explain, 

[71] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

even the minutes. When I mention twenty-nine dif- 
ferent patterns as being seasonable at a stated period, 
I do not mean to say that trout will rise to them all 
at any time and under all conditions. In the first 
place, the person using them might be a tyro unfa- 
miliar with the gentle art, the streams might be dried 
up, there might be an earthquake, the flies might be 
too large and coarse; and, for that matter, a thous- 
and other conditions might interfere. I fish dozens 
of streams in different localities several times every 
month during the legal season, and I have been a 
fond angler — if not a skillful one — since my tenth 
birthday. Experience on the streams, a true love for 
nature, and a careful attention to my notebook 
enable me to separate the artificial fiies into monthly 
lists. No man can class them into weekly or daily 
lots. The "Eastern gentleman who said if he could 
have but one fly he would take a yellow one," is 
probably a good angler, for a yellow fly is a fair 
choice. If I could have but one fly I should take 
a — ah! I cannot name its color; 'tis the quaker — a 
cream, buff, grayish honey-yellow shade. 

And now a few words about the proper tackle for 
mountain streams. Most anglers use rods that are too 
heavy and too long. I once used a rod of eight feet, 
four ounces, and I soon found that, while it was a 
nice weight, it was too long for real convenience. I 
now use a lancewood rod, but of course the higher- 
priced popular split bamboo is just as good. I 
shall not claim my rod's material is the better of 
the two, as some men do when speaking of their 
tackle ; but I am quite sure I shall never say the 
split bamboo is more than its equal. I do not advise 

[72] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

as to the material; I speak only of the weight and 
length. Let every man use his choice, but I seri- 
ously advise him to avoid the cheap-priced split 
bamboo rod. If split bamboo is the choice, let it 
be the work of a practical rod-maker. Any ordinary 
wood rod is better than the four-dollar spHt bamboo 
affair. 

The leader should be of single gut, but the length 
should be a trifle more than is commonly used. 
Twelve feet is my favorite amount. The reel should 
be the lightest common click reel* ; the creel, a willow 
one that sells for a dollar in the stores; and the 
flies (here's the rub) must be the smallest and finest 
in the market. Large, cheap, coarse flies will never 
do for Eastern waters, and you must not fail to 
secure your hst of the proper kind, as well as all 
your outfit, before you start on your trip. 

When you buy your flies buy lots of them, for, be 
you a tyro or practical angler, you will lose them 
easier on these streams than you imagine. Yes ; you 
must be very careful about the selection of your flies. 
They must be small and finely-made, high-priced 
goods. I wish I might tell you whom to have make 
them, but I dare not, lest I be charged with adver- 
tising a particular house. Regarding the patterns 
to use, I will say that none are more killing than 
the general list, if they are the best made and used 
according to the old rule all are famihar with — dark 
colors on cold days and bright ones on warm days. 



* Many — especially those who, under certain fishing condi- 
tions, do not wish to advertise too widely their whereabouts- 
prefer a drag reel, which is silent-running. — Ed. 

[73] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

The later the season the louder the fly — that is, when 
the season closes during hot weather. 

I never wear rubber boots to wade in. An old 
pair of heavy-soled shoes with spikes in their bot- 
toms, and small slits cut in the sides to let the water 
in and out, and a pair of heavy woolen socks com- 
prise my wading footwear. The slits must not be 
large enough to let in coarse sand and pebbles, but 
I find it absolutely necessary to have a slight open- 
ing; for if there be no means for the water to run 
freely in and out, the shoes fill from the tops 
and become heavy. Rubber boots are too hot for 
my feet and legs, while the water is never too cold. 
I have often had wet feet all day, and have never 
yet experienced any ill effects from it. 

I never use a staff in wading, but I should where 
it is very hard to wade. I have often fallen down 
in water up to my waist, overbalanced by the heavy 
current, where the bottoms were rough, with sharp, 
slimy stones. If you carry a staff, follow the custom 
of the old anglers. Tie it to your body with a 
string to keep it out of the way, and allow your 
hands to be as free as possible for a strike. Your 
landing-net should be a small one, minus any metal, 
with a foot-and-a-half handle, and a string tied to 
a front button on your garment should allow it to 
be slung over your shoulder onto your back when 
not in use. Of course, these little points about the 
use of different things are all familiar to the angler 
with but the slightest experience, and will appear to 
him neither instructive nor interesting ; but we must, 
as gentle anglers, give a thought or two to the 
earnest tyro, for we were young once ourselves. 

[74] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

I always carry two fly-books with me; one big 
fellow with the general fly stock in, and a little one 
holding two dozen flies and a dozen leaders, which I 
carry on the stream. A string tied to this, too, will 
prevent the unpleasantness of having it fall in the 
water and glide away from you. I even tie a string 
to my pipe and knife. The outing hat is an import- 
ant thing to me. Mine is always a soft brown or gray 
felt, and I use it to sit on in damp and hard places 
fifty times a day. 



[75] 



Pointers for Anglers 

By 

Charles Bradford 
Author of ''The Determined Angler^' ''The Wild- 
Fowlers," etc. 



KNIFE. — Your knife should be one the blade of 
which is ready for use at a touch on the handle. 
This will enable you to get at the blade without 
using both hands ; and as there are times on the stream 
when one's hands are full, it may be readily seen how 
much of an improvement this sort of knife is over the 
old-fashioned, clumsy, two-hand-requiring, finger- 
nail-breaking affair. 

Rubber- Bands. — These are serviceable little things 
to the angler. They will hold the rod- joints together 
on your way to the stream and after your day's play. 
Do not allow them to fit too snugly, and remove be- 
fore putting the rod away for any length of time. 

Buying Tackle. — There are two kinds of fishing- 
tackle — one that is practical in fishing and another 
that is used to decorate the walls of a dining-room, 
library, or camp. The first is too good to waste on 
the wall, and the other is too frail and generall}^ 



*By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 

[76] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

shoddy to angle with. The cheap spHt-bamboo rod is 
impossible as an implement of the smart fisherman. 
Cast with it a few times and you will notice that it 
gradually loses its spring, and that it will sooner or 
later bend to one position like a piece of ordinary 
cane or barrel-hoop. The fine split-bamboo rod and 
the fine rods made of good steel and wood — green- 
heart, bathabara, lancewood, etc. — when bent in the 
cast or play of the fish, w^ill straighten again after 
being released. The best is the cheapest, in the long 
run, in fishing-tackle as in everything else. By best 
I do not mean the fanciest. Gold buttons on a waist- 
coat will not add to the wearing quality of the ma- 
terial, and a diamond-studded reel would not run any 
freer or last any longer than the ordinary standard 
article. 

Ferrule-Removing. — Hold the ferrule over the 
flame of a spirit-lamp, or any flame, until the cement 
is softened. If the ferrule has been pinned on, take a 
large needle, break it off squarely, put it on the pin, 
and strike just hard enough to set the pin below the 
ferrule; then warm and remove. 

Stiff Rod- Joints, — Oil rod-joints that do not come 
apart or go together readily. Keep them free of sand, 
etc. Joints that are tightl}^ set can be easily freed 
by gently warming the material. Apply vaseline 
lightly or rub the male ferrule on the back of your 
neck or in your hair before jointing. This will make 
tlie ferrules come apart easily. 

Rod-Splicing. — Don't make a splice too short when 
mending a broken rod. Each tapered end should 
slightly belly, so as to fit snug when wound with the 
wax thread. 

[77] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

Rod-Varnish. — Wipe off all grease-stains. Dress 
lightly down with the best copal. 

The Rod-Case. — See that it is thoroughly dry be- 
fore the rod is housed in it; and to avoid bent tips, 
tie the case-strings loosely. 

Cork for Rod-Handles. — Cork is better than twine, 
wood, rubber, canvas, cane, etc., for the rod-handle. 
It is pleasant to the touch, will not slip, will not 
cause blisters on the hand, and is light in weight and 
neat in appearance. 

Landing-Net and Gaff. — ^What an excellent article 
is that combined landing-net and gaff ! The hook of 
the gaff closes, so there is no danger of cutting your- 
self while carrying the affair. The net is attached by 
unscrewing the hook and screwing on a watch-spring 
steel bending, which, when not in use, may be carried 
in one's vest pocket. The steel bending which makes 
the net hoop has on each end a half-screw, and when 
these are bent together they form a whole screw which 
is inserted in the end of the handle. This also holds 
the gaff when in use. 

Feathers. — Use dyed feathers for your flies only 
when those of nature's dyeing cannot be obtained. 
Most of the artificially dyed feathers will fade. Strips 
of feathers should not be taken from one side of the 
bird only. Fly-wings are collected each from a dif- 
ferent wing of the bird. 

To Preserve Feathers. — To preserve feathers from 
moths, keep the feathers in tin cases, with plenty of 
black pepper, ground fine; and leave a bit of a 
sponge, well saturated with spirits of turpentine, in 
the case. 

Feather-Stainmg. — To stain fly-wing feathers 
[78] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

gray-olive, well wash your feathers in a warm solu- 
tion of soda and soap ; then put them into a basin of 
clean water, and thoroughly cleanse them from the 
soda. Next put them into a hot mordant of alum 
and water till thoroughly saturated; then dip in a 
dye of fustic wood for a few minutes, or seconds only, 
merely to give them the slightest shade of yellow. 
Dip then in a pipkin in which a small piece of cop- 
peras has been dissolved. This will kill the yellow, 
and make the feathers a gray-olive. 

Fly-Varnish. — For the heads of flies use coach- 
builder's varnish, laid on with a fine-pointed brush. 

Line-Dyes. — To dye a line blue, soak in indigo- 
water; the stronger the dye the deeper the color. 
To dye green, soak in a strong decoction of green tea. 
To dye brown, soak in strong coffee. 

Natural Baits. — The wild oat's bearded seed makes 
a killing trout-fly, and black bass cannot resist a 
silvery willow leaf if flailed like a live minnow. 

Pliers. — Two pairs of the smallest watchmaker's 
pliers are handy when fly-fishing. With these you can 
untie the smallest knot in the finest silk line or leader, 
and do innumerable other delicate jobs. 

Shears. — A small pair of shears are very handy to 
the trout-fisherman in the trimming of leaders, flies, 
etc. I always carry a pair. When wading a stream, 
there are times when one cannot open his knife without 
delay and loss, and it is then the little shears do their 
best work. Tie them to a button on your coat or you 
will drop them in the stream at some exciting moment. 

Snell. — To prevent the gut snell from slipping, al- 
ways crush the end between your teeth before whip- 
ping it to the hook. 

[79' 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

How to Split Shot. — Drive the shot in a pine 
board until it is practically imbedded, about 114 
inches from an ordinary staple, which should be 
forced firmly into the wood. The end of the knife 
blade should be placed under the staple. In securing 
the shot to the leader, place it 6 inches or farther 
from the hook. 

Ring-Whipping. — Use silk twist in whipping rings 
or guides in the rod. Draw the final end through a 
few coils of the whipping by means of a loose loop. 

Brass-Black. — To reblacken brasses, mix a little 
lampblack with spirit varnish. Dress once or twice 
and let the dressing thoroughly dry before using the 
copal. 



(80, 



The Rifle in the Woods 

BY 

George Gladden 

WHAT kind of a gun you should take into 
the woods depends primarily, of course, 
upon the purpose of your outing; but 
even if you do not intend to do any serious hunting, 
it will be well enough to have some sort of firearm 
along. If it is going to be a case of "hike" or pad- 
dle — or both — and therefore, of course, you are 
going as "light" as possible, but expect to have a 
chance occasionally to add a rabbit or a partridge or 
a squirrel to the carte du jour^ take either a single- 
ban-el pistol or a repeating rifle of .22 caliber. In 
either case, get a good weapon — a Stevens or Smith 
and Wesson pistol, or a Winchester, Savage, Rem- 
ington, Marlin or Stevens repeater. Avoid cheap 
guns. Some of them shoot remarkably well, but they 
are more or less treacherous, because of the inferior 



*The Editor presents, by personal preference, the views of 
a conservative sportsman; realizing, hov/ever, that not all read- 
ers may fully agree therewith. 

Copyright, 1912, by George Gladden. 

[81] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

material and the imperfect workmanship which make 
them cheap. 

If you take a pistol, get one with a barrel not less 
than six inches long, and eight inches is still better. 
Such a weapon (made by either of the manufacturers 
above named) is very accurate, even with a short 
cartridge, up to thirty or thirty-five yards, and much 
further if a long rifle cartridge be used. It is by no 
means easy to shoot effectively with a pistol, but 
patience and intelHgent practice will develop con- 
fidence and accuracy, so that presently you should 
be able to get your partridge at twenty-five yards 
almost every time. Don't use a shot cartridge 
unless you are willing to ruin the barrel for the 
purpose for which it was made. And don't use an 
ordinary .22 long cartridge, in either a pistol or a 
rifle, as it is poorly balanced and will shoot little 
further than a .22 short, while it will foul the barrel 
about twice as quickly. For pistol shooting you will 
be doing well enough if you hit at the extreme range 
of the short cartridge, though if you have plenty 
of time and can get a rest, you might want to try 
for a duck or a partridge at fifty or sixty yards. 
Then you would need the long rifle cartridge, which 
is scientifically made, and about twice as powerful 
as the short. And, by the way, when shooting with 
a rest, don't hold the barrel of your pistol or rifle 
against any object that is immovable y for the recoil 
will inevitably throw the barrel away from such a 
rest. Hold the weapon with your hands and lean 
or brace yourself against the rest. That is, make 
the rest steady primarily your body^ not your 
weapon. 

[83] • 



Photo,i;>-a}>h hy H. R. Starhiiui. 



A TIMID NEIGHBOR OF THE WILD 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

If you can conveniently take a rifle, so much the 
better, of course, for the bill of fare. And there is 
probably little choice between any of the above 
mentioned weapons as far as general effectiveness 
is concerned. The Savage and Remington .S2s have 
the distinct advantage of being hammerless guns, a 
model which, all things considered, is safer to handle 
than is any weapon with an exposed hammer. The 
Savage has the added advantage of loading by 
means of magazines (each holding seven cartridges 
of any one of the three .22 caliber sizes) which may 
be carried in the pocket and inserted quickly. The 
other rifles have tubular magazines, lying under the 
barrel, where they are more or less likely to get a 
knock which may put the repeating feature of the 
weapon out of commission. Each of these weapons 
is operated by a sliding fore-end device, and all are 
about equal in the durability of their mechanism; 
while there is probably little diff'erence in their range 
and killing power. The Winchester company makes 
a very eff'ective small automatic rifle — called a .22, 
but in reality somewhat larger — which one may use 
if he approves of automatic guns — on which subject, 
more presently. Much care should be taken to keep 
the barrels of these small rifles very clean. A field 
cleaner should be run through them after every eight 
or ten shots, and at least once a day the barrel 
should be thoroughly scrubbed out with oil-soaked 
bits of cloth on a cleaning rod. A roll of surgeon's 
bandage — cotton, not lint — an inch in width, will be 
found very convenient for this use. All of the rifles 
named may be had in the "take-down" model, which 
makes them easier to clean and to pack. 

[83] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

So much for the small rifle to be used for small — 
very small — game. If you are going to hunt medium 
or big game, or will be in a country where you are 
likely to come across such animals, you will, of 
course, need a more powerful weapon. By the term 
"medium game" is meant deer, black bear and mam- 
mals like the lynx, fox, wolf, 'coon, etc. By "big 
game" is meant moose, caribou, elk and grizzly or 
brown bear. If you are going to hunt seriously big 
game, it might be well for you to be equipped with 
the most powerful rifle you can get, though, in point 
of fact, the biggest of American big game animals 
are killed by the hundreds every year with modern 
rifles of relatively small caliber. 

Consideration of this general subject brings us at 
once within sound of the controversy as to the rela- 
tive effectiveness of the old-style, large-caliber, low- 
velocity rifle, firing black powder, and the modern, 
small-caliber, liigh- velocity weapon, firing smokeless 
powder. But this conflict of opinion has yearly been 
growing more and more unequal as the efliciency of 
the modern weapon has become apparent to a stead- 
ily increasing number of intelligent sportsmen. In 
fact, it has gone much the same way as the debate 
of fifty years or so ago, as to whether the breech- 
loader would, or even could, shoot as well as the 
muzzle-loader, and the still later opposition to the 
repeating rifle. Only a few years ago (in 1904, to 
be precise) Mr. Horace Kephart, a keen sportsman 
and a rifle expert as well, contributed to the volume, 
"Guns, Ammunition and Fishing Tackle" (in the 
"American Sportsman's Library"), a very interest- 

[841 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ing and instructive chapter on "The Hunting Rifle," 
in which he declared liimself as follows: 

"A first-class marksman, who depends on making 
every shot count, will do more accurate shooting with 
a single-shot rifle, fitted with aperture rear and 
open wind-gauge front sights, and double set trigger 
of the *schuetzen' pattern, than he will with a repeat- 
ing rifle. The very fact that he cannot 'pump lead' 
will make him a more careful stalker, and a deadlier 
marksman, than he who rehes on rapid fire. To those 
who do not hunt for count, but who take an honest 
pride in skilful woodcraft and clean kills at the first 
shot, the Hght-triggered and fine-sighted single- 
loader will ever remain the true artist's weapon. 
Theirs is the school of the nail-driver — that good old 
school of the American backwoodsman, who tanned 
his boy's jacket for every miss, or of the South 
African Boer, who said to his son : 'Here is a cart- 
ridge; go fetch me an antelope.' I would there 
were no other school for riflemen to-day." 

In a magazine article (published seven years or so 
later), Mr. Kephart has another infonning and enii- 
nently sensible discussion* of the ballistics of modern 
hunting rifles. In this article he has nothing to say 
about single-loaders as such, and practically all of 
the cartridges he mentions are, I believe, intended 
primarily, if not exclusively, for repeaters. Further- 
more, this article contains these significant comments : 

"There was a time when game was so plentiful and 
(relatively) so unwary that a hunter generally had 



*"Killing Power of BuUets," by Horace Kephart, "The Out- 
ing Magazine," January, 1912. 

[85] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

a fair chance to display exquisite marksmanship — the 
art of the nail-driver — at the short ranges that were 
then the rule. 

"Conditions change. We take running shots now- 
adays and long shots that our forefathers would have 
considered foolish. In such hunting it is utterly im- 
possible to *put the bullet in the right place' so un- 
failingly as of yore. To be humane, then — to be 
sportsmen instead of butchers and bunglers — we 
must use charges of much greater power than were 
customary a quarter of a century ago. This we 
can do with small bores, owing to improved ammuni- 
tion." 

Now, although these two views of hunting, taken 
literally, do not actually conflict, Mr. Kephart will 
not be surprised if some of his readers find in his later 
expression an implication which does not quite jibe 
with the general view of the earlier one. In the first 
place, it is a fact, I think, that at the time Mr. Kep- 
hart wrote the article first quoted from, repeating 
rifles could be had with as light trigger adjustments 
and as fine sights as are or ever have been used on 
any single-shot hunting rifle. If conditions have 
changed — and most certainly they have — so that 
now it is sometimes absolutely impossible to "put the 
bullet in the right place," it would seem that a cau- 
tious and merciful hunter will arm himself with a 
rifle which not only fires the modem high-power am- 
munition, but with which he may, if need be, follow 
his first bullet with a second, and, if necessary, with 
a third; and this he can often do with a repeating 
rifle long before a single-shot weapon could be 
reloaded even once. Furthermore, with all due re- 

[86] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

spect to Mr. Kephart, I think it may fairly be 
doubted whether the average user of a repeating rifle 
shoots carelessly because he knows that he can "pump 
lead." On the contrary, I believe that the average 
hunter who "draws a bead" on a moose or deer with 
an ordinary repeater, will do his best to make the 
first shot deadly. He may be dimly conscious that 
he has more shots at his quick command, but if he 
is a sensible man he is not likely to reckon in such 
chances ; and if he is facing actually dangerous game, 
he certainly will not. 

Mr. Kephart's magazine article on the ballistics 
of modern hunting rifles is a convincing defense of 
the modem small-calibre rifle which uses smokeless 
powder to propel a soft-nosed bullet at a high vel- 
ocity. The article includes tables giving the bullet 
weight, muzzle velocity and muzzle energy of about 
seventy different rifle cartridges, grouped according 
to the author's idea) with respect to whether they 
should be used for big game, medium game, or small 
game. Mr. Kephart does not say definitely where he 
got the data contained in his tables, except that where 
"the ballistics of this or that cartridge vary some- 
what according to the factory loading it," he has 
given the data "supplied by the different companies." 
But, assuming that he got all of his figures from the 
cartridge makers, and (if we choose to be cynical) 
that therefore it is safe to infer that the effectiveness 
of the cartridges has not been understated, the fact 
remains that the tables are highly significant. 

"In comparing the kiUing power of different 
charges," says Mr. Kephart, "we have one definite 
datum to start with: The muzzle energy of the 

[87] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

bullet. Energy is expressed in foot-pounds, which 

means the force required to lift so many pounds one 

foot from the ground. Energy varies directly as the 

bullet's weight and as the square of its velocity. 

Speed, then, is of greater consequence than the weight 

of the bullet. For example: 

Weight of bullet. Muzzle velocity. Muzzle energy. 

300 grains 1,500 feet a second - 750 foot-pounds 

150 grains 1,500 feet a second - 1,499 foot-pounds 

150 grains 3,000 feet a second 2,998 foot-pounds 

"In this instance doubling the weight only doubles 
the energy; but doubling the speed quadruples the 
energy. Notice that caliber has nothing to do with 
this. Weight and velocity determine the resulting 
energy, no matter what the caliber may be. 

"But game is seldom shot at the muzzle of the gun. 
The energy we are interested in is energy at the point 
of impact, wherever that may be. Bullets differ 
very much in the degree to which they maintain or 
lose speed and energy. The 200-grain bullet of a 
.401 self-loaded (very short and bluff) loses 35 per 
cent, of its energy in going only 100 yards ; the 300- 
grain .405 bullet (medium length and taper) loses 
26 per cent. ; the 150-grain .30 sharp-pointed United 
States bullet (relatively longer and with fine taper), 
loses but 16% per cent, energy in the same distance. 
Here is another reason for observing critically the 
length of a bullet in calibers (i. e., length in propor- 
tion to diameter) when choosing a cartridge." 

Mr. Kephart's statistics of the muzzle energy of 
various rifle cartridges will surprise even the man 
who has given some attention to this subject, while 
they will astonish the novice, if he be an open-minded 
person. If they be accurate (and I can see no reason 

[88] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

for doubting their accuracy), they demonstrate, be- 
yond all doubt, that "caliber alone is no gauge of 
power," as Mr. Kephart says. "Let the novice rid 
himself once and for all," says Mr. Kephart, "of the 
notion that a big bore necessarily means a powerful 
rifle, and a small bore means a weak one. This never 
was true, even in the days of round bullets. . . . 
In our tables of modern ammunition we see a .35 cali- 
ber Winchester of 779 foot-pounds muzzle en- 
ergy, and another ,35 Winchester of 2,687 foot 
pounds. The former is rather light for deer shoot- 
ing, and the latter will knock down a grizzly bear. 
Again, we note a bullet of only .256 inch diameter 
and 139 grains weight, that has a muzzle energy 
of 2,585 foot-pounds, which is much greater than 
that of any .45 or .50 caliber cartridge loaded with 
black gunpowder that ever was used in a repeating 
rifle. It attains this power by a muzzle velocity of 
2,887 feet a second." 

Some of the other surprising contrasts shown in 
the tables are that the cartridge for the .32 Win- 
chester self-loading rifle, firing a bullet of 165 grains 
weight, at a muzzle velocity of 1,392 foot-seconds, 
has a muzzle energy of 710 foot-pounds, and the .35 
Remington self-loader, firing a bullet of 170 grains 
at a muzzle velocity of 2,050 foot-seconds, develops 
a muzzle energy of 1,585 foot-pounds, while the 
.30 — 30 Winchester, Marlin and Savage rifles, firing 
a bullet of 170 grains at a muzzle velocity of 2,008 
foot-seconds, have a muzzle energy of 1,522 foot- 
pounds, and the Savage .303 (only three one-thou- 
sandths of an inch larger in diameter), with a bullet 
of 195 grains and a muzzle velocity of 1,952 foot- 

[80] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

seconds, has a muzzle energy of 1,658 foot-pounds. 
All of the foregoing Mr. Kephart classifies as 
"medium game cartridges," though he concedes that 
"the larger game on this continent has been killed 
by the thousands" with rifles using this ammunition. 
The table giving the ballistics of cartridges which 
Mr. Kephart recommends for the "big game" of this 
country — i. e. (presumably), the big bears, grizzly, 
Alaskan and polar; moose, elk, caribou and, perhaps, 
sheep and goats — also shows some significant com- 
parisons. The most powerful cartridge mentioned is 
the .425 Westley Richards-Mauser, with a 410-grain 
sharp-pointed bullet and a velocity of 2,461 foot-sec- 
onds, developing the enormous muzzle energy of 
5,022 foot-pounds, although the Jeffrey-Mauser of 
.333 caliber comes next with a sharp-pointed bullet 
of 250 grains, 2,600 foot-seconds muzzle velocity 
and 4,200 foot-pounds muzzle energy, while even 
the little .256 (6.5 mm.) Mausers and Mannlichers, 
with a 139-graIn bullet, sharp pointed, and a muzzle 
velocity of 2,887 foot-seconds, have a muzzle en- 
ergy of 2,585 foot-pounds, and the .30 United States 
1906 service cartridge, with a sharp-pointed bullet 
of 150 grains and a muzzle velocity of 2,700 foot- 
seconds, strikes a 2,429 foot-pound blow. (The last 
named is, I believe, the cartridge which Colonel Roose- 
velt found so effective in his African hunting, and 
with which he actually killed a full-grown rhinoceros.) 
Mr. Kephart is at pains to explain, however, that 
though the normal diameter of a bullet does not con- 
trol its killing power, its diameter, when expanded 
by impact, "determines, in great degree, how much of 
the projectile's energy will actually be utilized in 

[90] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

shocking the thing struck." And this brings us to 
the consideration of the soft-nosed, i. e.y "mushroom- 
ing," bullet, which has a hard metal jacket enclosing, 
except at the point, a lead core. As Mr. Kephart 
says: 

"A good bullet for hunting any big game, except 
the greater pachyderms, is one that will expand when 
it hits, and still hold together so as to penetrate 
deeply. Such a bullet 'pulps' tissue all around its 
course, drives body fluids violently away from it, 
smashes bones instead of drilling them, paralyzes 
nerves, and either imparts its full blow by stopping in 
the body or tears a big hole of exit through which 
the Hfe-blood rapidly drains. This sounds gruesome, 
but, in fact, it is humane; for the quicker a beast 
is knocked down and dispatched, the better it is for 
all concerned." 

This matter of the ballistics of rifle cartridges has 
been considered at some length so that the reader, 
who may be quite ignorant on the subject, or, per- 
haps, knows little except what the commoner calibers 
are, may make an intelHgent choice of the weapon he 
will take into the woods. For after all, the cartridge 
is the main thing — the factor whose quantity is 
known and practically unvarying. As to the actual 
make of rifle to be chosen, that is a question upon 
which no sensible man will attempt to be dogmatic, 
since this choice must, in large measure, depend upon 
purely personal considerations, including whim and 
even prejudice, which may be quite without reason. 
As to shooting accuracy, convenience and speed in 
manipulation, and general durability, any one of half 
a dozen repeating rifles is as good as any other one. 

[91] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

These rifles (mentioning tliem in alphabetical order) 
are the Mannlicher, the Mannlicher-Schoenhauer and 
the Mauser (Geraian guns) ; the Marlin, the Savage 
and the Winchester (American weapons). Broadly 
speaking, the basic difference between the mechanism 
for operating these guns is that the German rifles 
have the bolt action, while the American weapons 
are operated with a lever, which forms an extension 
of the trigger guard. Both of these actions have 
their advantages and their disadvantages ; either may 
be operated easily and rapidly ; there is little, if any, 
choice between them so far as either speed or safety 
is concerned. As to magazines, it will probably be 
admitted that either the cylindrical type of the Sav- 
age, which carries the cartridges grouped side by 
side, or the box type of certain of the Winchester 
models, which holds them one below the other, is to 
be preferred to the tubular form, which disposes 
them in a tube lying under the barrel, with the result 
that the balance of the weapon changes more or less 
as they are withdrawn. Personally, I use a Savage 
.303, and prefer it decidedly to any other rifle with 
which I am familiar, not only because I know it is 
an exceedingl}^ powerful weapon, and a very easily 
operated one, but because of its positive safety feat- 
ures, the most distinctive of which is its hammerless 
action — that is, the hammer is entirely concealed 
within the lock. But I am not going to turn my 
Savage on the man who happens to prefer a Win- 
chester or a Mauser. 

From the group of rifles just mentioned I have 
purposely omitted automatic weapons, for which I 
can see no good excuse, save in the pursuit of actually 

[92] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

dangerous game. And the only really dangerous 
animals on this continent are the big bears — the 
grizzly, the Alaskan brown and the polar. In point 
of fact, tens of thousands of these animals have been 
killed with weapons far less effective than is the mod- 
em hunting rifle. The result is that, so far as the 
grizzly is concerned (and he is probably the most 
dangerous of them all), his nature has undergone a 
remarkable change. When the white man first began 
to come in contact with this great bear he was quite 
inclined to be aggressive, whereas to-day he is more 
than apt to beat a precipitate retreat the instant his 
keen nose reports the presence of his mortal enemy, 
man. If encountered suddenly at close quarters, how- 
ever, or if wounded, he may turn on the hunter, and he 
is then an exceedingly dangerous animal. The hunter 
who pursues such game may be excused for arming 
himself with a large caliber automatic rifle. The fact 
remains, however, that the experienced, cool-headed 
and courageous man, armed with any good repeating 
rifle of suitable power, has the odds largely in his 
favor, under all normal conditions, in a set-to with 
the biggest and ugliest grizzly that ever walked. To 
all of which it may be added that the hunter who is 
not willing to take any chances at all, had better arm 
himself not only with the most deadly automatic gun 
he can get, but with a couple of dynamite bombs as 
well. 

The hunting of harmless game, and especiall}^ deer 
of any kind, with an automatic rifle, seems to me 
entirely indefensible. In such hunting the rapidity of 
fire, which is the distinguishing characteristic of this 
type of rifle, is not needed, and the mere fact that 

[93] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

it is possible, I think, encourages careless shooting, 
and consequently increases the number of animals 
who are wounded and escape, perhaps to die a linger- 
ing death — an event which is deplored by every true 
sportsman. I am aware that some of my readers may 
contend that this does not agree very well with, even 
if it does not flatly contradict, my criticism of Mr. 
Kephart's objection to the repeating rifle. But once 
the facts and the psychology of both positions are 
clearly stated, I think I shall not be accused of incon- 
sistency. My contention, then, is that a repeating 
rifle may be needed for a second or third shot, no 
matter how good a marksman the hunter may be; 
that he can operate it rapidly enough to make these 
shots, but that doing this involves enough effort and 
time to make him shoot carefully; while, in the case 
of the automatic, I contend the extreme rapidity of 
fire is very rarely, if ever, necessary ; that its possi- 
bility is almost certain to make the hunter more or 
less careless, with the deplorable results before men- 
tioned, and that, anyhow, he is a poor sportsman 
who insists upon taking advantage of every condi- 
tion and device in order to make the contest as 
unequal as possible. (The same considerations prompt 
me to refuse to use a silencer on my rifle. In 
Heaven's name, are we to give the game no chance 
at all.'' And there is the further very cogent objec- 
tion to this device, that, in a forest where there are 
other humans, hunters or otherwise, it greatly in- 
creases their peril, since it muffles the report so that 
it might not be heard at a distance of a hundred 
yards, especially if there is much wind and the woods 
are noisy.) 

[94] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

And if the automatic rifle is indefensible, the auto- 
matic shotgun is a thousand times more so, while the 
"pump-gun" is a close second. With these devil's 
inventions for the extermination of game birds 
in the hands of market hunters, in certain well- 
known resorts of the water fowl along the coast, who 
can tell what slaughter will be wrought? Think of 
two of these "sportsmen" rising from their blind as 
a big flock of black ducks settles down in a close 
bunch, over their decoys, and letting go twelve 
charges of No. 4 shot in half as many seconds ! And 
that, I submit, is precisely what practically ever}^ 
gunner will do under such conditions, be he a pot- 
hunter or — at other times — a sportsman. He will 
shoot as fast as he can as long as the birds are at 
all bunched — trusting to luck, and rarely, if ever, 
actually aiming at a single bird. 

That, men and brethren, is not sport. It is whole- 
sale slaughter, as stupid as it is ruthless, and intelli- 
gent public opinion should forbid such practices (or 
speedily put an end to them if they have begun) 
before it is too late. 



[y5] 



Hunting Caribou in 
Newfoundland 

F. C. Selous 
Author of ''Sport and Travel^ East and Wcsf^ 

ALL North American reindeer are known to both 
sportsmen and naturalists as caribou, but two 
undoubted species exist: the Barren Ground 
caribou (Rangifer tarandus arcticus) and the Wood- 
land caribou {Rangifer tarandus caribou). Both of 
these species range right across the North American 
continent, the former within the Arctic circle from 
the east coast of Greenland to the western extremity 
of Alaska, and the latter through the forest regions 
further south, from Newfoundland to the north- 
western districts of British Columbia. As might 
naturally be expected in animals inhabiting such vast 
areas of country, certain differences in coloration and 
the general type of their horns have been observed 
between both the Barren Ground and Woodland cari- 
bou inhabiting different portions of their range. 
These differences, which have been considered suf- 
ficient to justify American naturalists in recognizing 
three distinct species of Woodland caribou, and at 
least as many of the Barren Ground or Arctic form, 
are looked upon as merely variations of, at most, sub- 

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specific value by British zoologists, who consider that 
the caribou of Greenland and Alaska are nothing 
more than local races of Rangifer tarandus arcticuSy 
while the Woodland varieties found in Newfoundland 
and British Columbia are also thought to be only 
local races of the type species inhabiting eastern and 
northern Canada. Personally, after having examined 
the heads of many Woodland caribou, shot in vari- 
ous parts of eastern Canada, as well as a large number 
killed in Newfoundland, I should say that it would 
be quite impossible to distinguish the East Conti- 
nental from the Island form by any constant or well- 
marked character in the horns of either. Moreover, 
I was told when in Newfoundland that from time to 
time caribou have been known to cross the Strait of 
Belle-Isle in winter on the ice from Labrador to that 
country. No migration in a contrary direction (from 
Newfoundland to Labrador) would ever be likely to 
take place, as the caribou resident on the island en- 
tirely desert its northern extremity and move down 
south before the winter sets in. The fact that Cana- 
dian lynxes are universally believed in Newfoundland 
to be the descendants of animals which, in quite recent 
times, came over the Strait of Belle-Isle on the ice, 
seems to me to be an argument in favor of caribou 
having preceded them. For I should scarcely think 
it likely that a lynx would leave the coast of Labrador 
and travel for miles over a frozen sea to an unknown 
land unless he were following on the track of some 
animal that occasionally furnished him with food; 
and although the North American lynx preys prin- 
cipally upon hares and willow grouse, it occasionally 
succeeds in killing a caribou fawn. 

[97] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

My own personal experience of the Woodland cari- 
bou has been gained entirely in Newfoundland. In 
the spring of the year, when the snow is beginning to 
melt from the ground, the greater part of the caribou 
in Newfoundland commence their annual migration 
toward the wind-swept barrens in the northern parts 
of the island, where the calves are bom, and where 
they remain until the following autumn, when they 
again travel southward during September and Octo- 
ber. A considerable number of caribou, however, re- 
main in the southern half of Newfoundland all the 
year round. These latter pass the summer in the 
thick spruce and juniper woods that clothe the banks 
of the rivers and the shores of the lakes, which every- 
where abound in that region. At that time of the 
year, and in this part of the country, they do not live 
in herds, but are usually met with alone or in pairs. 
In the early part of September every caribou stag I 
saw, with one exception, was alone, and every doe 
was also alone, or accompanied by only her fawn. 
In the case of the only exception to this rule which 
I met with, a stag and a doe were together. 

On the SOth of September I came across a stag 
with a doe, followed by two fawns — one of the pre- 
vious year and one only a few months old. The rut- 
ting season was then approaching, though I believe 
that it had not commenced, as all the old stags I had 
met with up to this time were alone, and those which 
I killed were excessively fat. When the rut comes 
on they wander about continually, and eat very little. 
Each old stag collects as many does as he can find 
for himself or take from a weaker rival, and thus all 
the animals, which have passed the summer alone, 

[98] 



CP7(rtesy D. &■ H. Raih-oad 




A SUNNY GLADE 



Photograph by G. C. Hell 




"O'ER ALL THE TREE-TOPS IS PEACE" 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

become formed into small herds, each one of which is 
ruled over by a master stag, followed at a respectful 
distance by two or three younger males. As the 
winter advances these small herds collect together, 
and sometimes form large droves. Like the males of 
all other species of deer, Woodland caribou stags 
fight fiercely for the possession of the does ; so much 
so that the antlers of old stags shot in October are 
often found to be more or less damaged. Sometimes 
the horns of two contending caribou stags get inter- 
locked in such a way that they cannot be separated, 
and the two combatants die a slow and miserable 
death from starvation. The antlers of the Woodland 
caribou grow to a large size and make very hand- 
some trophies. The finest specimens known have, I 
believe, been obtained in the northern part of British 
Columbia; but I have seen very fine heads from the 
northern parts of Ontario and Quebec, and also from 
Newfoundland. The antlers of the Woodland caribou 
of eastern Canada and Newfoundland are shorter 
than in either the Barren Ground species or the rein- 
deer of Europe; but, on the other hand, they arc 
much more palmated. Some heads carry over fifty 
points, but anything over forty points is considered 
very fine. At the same time, a large, symmetrical 
head carrying only thirty points might be a finer 
trophy than one with a much greater number of 
small points. 

Woodland caribou are very strong swimmers, and 
think nothing of crossing any lake or river they may 
encounter during migration. They swim higher in 
the water than any other animal I have encountered, 
and I believe this is owing to the fact that the long 

[99] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

hairs in their coats (for there is an undergrowtli of 
fine wool) are hollow and must contain a certain 
amount of air, so that they carry on their bodies a 
very portable form of life-belt. Much of the country 
inhabited by the Woodland caribou is soft, spongy 
marsh, in which a horse or an ox would at once be- 
come hopelessly bogged; but the caribou walks and 
trots over such treacherous ground apparently with 
the greatest ease. An examination of its feet at 
once shows one the reason of this, for the hoofs of the 
caribou are not only very broad and round, but can 
be splayed out to a much greater extent than the 
hoofs of an ox, while the dew-claws are prolonged into 
two spikes which can also be extended wide 
apart, so that altogether the four widespread hoofs, 
each supplemented by its long and specially formed 
dew-claws, form a large bearing surface, capable of 
supporting a heavy weight on soft ground. The 
weight of caribou stags in high condition in New- 
foundland is said to range from 400 to 500 pounds as 
they stand, and certain men have "guessed" that cer- 
tain stags weighed as much as 600 pounds. The 
Barren Ground caribou is a very much smaller ani- 
mal and its weight is said to be less than half that of 
its Woodland cousin. 

It is rather strange that, whereas, according to the 
universal testimony of the many well-known sports- 
men who have hunted it, the European reindeer is an 
extremely keen-sighted and wary animal, which can 
only be approached by careful stalking, its near rela- 
tives, the caribou of North America, appear to me to 
be, as a general rule, very dull-sighted and less wary 
than any other wild animal which has been hunted by 

[100] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

man for a long period of time. I am, liowevcr, aware 
of a considerable conflict of opinion on this subject, 
the caribou of eastern Canada having been described 
by some authors as wary and keen-sighted animals. I 
have been told by members of the Canadian Geological 
Survey, who have met with large numbers of Barren 
Ground caribou in the desolate wastes of Arctic 
America, that these animals are so tame and stupid 
that, once they are found, they can be approached 
and shot with the greatest ease. In fact, one gentle- 
man told me that there was no more sport in shoot- 
ing them than there would be in killing sheep in an 
English meadow. I presume, however, that it would 
be necessary to approach them against the wind. This 
was the one point that I found it necessary to study 
when hunting Woodland caribou in Newfoundland. 
These animals appeared to me to be fairly keen- 
scented, and all I saw that got the wind of human 
beings at once took alarm. But their sense of hearing 
did not appear to me to be at all well developed, and 
their eyesight I put on a level with that of the African 
elephant and the white rhinoceros — the two dullest- 
sighted animals, with the exception of the caribou, 
that I have ever met with. In addition to this dullness 
of sense, they appeared to me to be singularly un- 
suspicious of danger, and altogether, from what I 
have m3^self seen of Woodland caribou hunting in 
Newfoundland, and from what I have heard from 
friends who have hunted the Barren Ground species, I 
consider that, speaking generally, both forms of 
North American reindeer are among the most unwarj' 
of all wild animals, and, therefore, also among the 
easiest to stalk and kill. 

[101] 



Field Taxidermy 
By 

J. W. Elwood 
President of the Northwestern School of Taxidermy 

BY the term "Field Taxidermy" we refer to the 
proper handling of game-birds and animals in 
the field, so that they will reach the taxider- 
mist in good condition for mounting or tanning. In 
this brief treatise no attempt is made to give instruc- 
tions on the subjects of mounting trophies or tanning 
hides ; but accurate information is outlined for the 
proper handling of specimens when they are secured, 
so they will not spoil or be damaged in transit, and so 
they may be kept raw for a number of weeks or even 
months if desired. 

More specimens are ruined in the field by incorrect 
handling than are ruined by incompetent taxidermists 
in the shops. Some persons are in the habit of send- 
ing decaying, evil-smelling hides or skins to the taxi- 
dermist, and expect him, through some "hocus-pocus," 
to transfer them into perfect specimens of beautiful 
birds and animals. If the taxidermist fails to do this, 

[102] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

or notifies his correspondent that he cannot do satis- 
factory work on account of the specimen being dam- 
aged, then the taxidermist is often condemned as 
incompetent. 

Anyone with a Httle judgment should know that 
it is impossible to set the feather or hair on a rotten 
skin, or to make two hairs grow where but one grew 
before. If the hunter or sportsman will take care 
of his specimens and get them to the taxidermist in 
good condition, the chances are that he will get good 
work ; and if 3'ou want perfect trophies, do your part 
when you take them in the field. 

A great many sportsmen, after securing deer, elk, 
moose, or other game animals of this kind, cut the 
throat regardless of location and direction, often mu- 
tilating the hide so that it can never be mounted with- 
out the cuts and seams showing; or after the skin is 
removed the\^ are likely to roll it up and put it in a 
dark, warm place, with the result that it spoils or be- 
comes grease-burned or heated so that the hair slips 
when it is soaked up for mounting. 

To start with, we wish to emphasize four important 
points in handling game-heads : 

First — Never cut an animal on the throat. 

Second — Never cut the hide off with a short neck. 
Leave necJcs very long. 

Third — Never dry a hide in the sun. 

Fourth — Never roll a hide up before it is dry. 

After an animal has been secured, proceed to skin 
it as follows : Make an incision down the back of the 
neck from A to X, as shown in figure 1. From this 
point make incisions to C and D at the bases of the two 
antlers. These are the only incisions necessary in skin- 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ning game-heads with antlers. If the specimen does not 
have antlers, then the incision from A to X is suf- 
ficient. After this incision has been made, skin the 
neck in the usual way until you reach the ears, which 
should be detached veri/ close to the skull. Detach 
the skin around the antlers. The cut sliould be close 
to the antlers, leaving no hair attached to them. 

Now continue the skinning until the eyes are 
reached, where you must proceed with a great deal 
of care, for it is very easy to cut the eyelids, and if 
you do, you will never be able to repair them per- 
fectly. The corners of the eyelids are likely to be 
attached firmly to the bone and must be separated by 
carefully applying a knife or scalpel. 

Continue to invert the skin until you reach the 
nostrils and mouth. See figure 2. Now work slowh^ 
and carefully and you will have no trouble. Cut the 
lips away close to the teeth and make no incision 
through the skin. The skin will now be entirely sep- 
arated from the skull, but there will, of course, be a 
great deal of fat and flesh clinging to it. After the 
"scalp" has been removed from the skull it will ap- 
pear like figure 3. 

You should now proceed to skin the ears. Some 
so-called taxidermists do not consider it necessary to 
skin out the ears at all, but simply preserve them and 
allow them to dry up with the cartilage inside, but 
this is always poor work. The specimens never look 
right, for the ears shrink and shrivel and are un- 
sightly. Therefore, in all cases skin out the ears en- 
tirely to the points. Do not make any cuts in the ear- 
skin, but turn the ears inside out. Starting on the 
back part of the ear, separate the cartilage as far 

[104] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

as you can with a knife, then start to turn it inside 
out, separating the cartilage from the skin as you go. 
Do not try to separate it from the front part of the 
ear at this time, but continue the work on the back 
part until you have reached the point. Some blunt 
instrument, such as a spoon-handle or flat hardwood 
stick, is very useful for this purpose. 

After the ears have been skinned the lips should 
next receive attention. Pare away all the cartilage 
from about the mouth and nose until the skin is very 
thin, then go over the entire interior of the hide, re- 
moving all the fat and flesh possible. This work 
cannot he done too well. A great many skins are 
ruined by leaving fat and flesh on them, causing 
grease-burn. After the fleshing has been thoroughly 
done the hide should be stretched out without any 
wrinkles or folds in it, and left to dry naturall}^ in a 
cool place in the shade. 

It is not necessar}^ to put any salt, arsenic, alum, 
or other chemical on the hide providing the weather 
is reasonably dry ; and if a skin can be saved without 
any chemicals it will soak up in water to best ad- 
vantage when ready to mount. Allow the skin to be- 
come thoroughly dry and hard ; after which it can be 
folded up and kept for a long time, or safely shipped 
to the taxidermist with no danger of spoiling. If, 
however, the weather is damp, it is best to salt the 
hide thoroughly before leaving it to dry. 

Remember that skins must never be folded up or 
wrapped up while they are fresh and wet, for the 
chances are that they will be utterly ruined. All of 
the meat should be cut away from tlie skulls, whic]i 
are preserved to be used in mounting. Be sure and 

[106] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

save the lower jawbone. If game-heads are handled 
as indicated above, there is no chance of their spoil- 
ing or reaching the taxidermist in an unsatisfactory 
condition. 

If it is desired to preserve the entire hide for 
mounting, the skinning must be carefully done and as 
few cuts made as possible. In skinning almost all 
animals the incision should be made as shown in figure 
4. 

Start at A and cut forward to C, then backward to 
point B. Then make an incision on the inside of the 
legs from points A and B to the feet. Now skin the 
vrhole animal in the usual way. After the skin has beer 
removed, cut open the bottom of the feet and shave 
awa}^ all the meat and cartilage. Split open the tail 
full length and remove the bone. Skin out the ears 
and remove the cartilage from them, as has already 
been directed. Now go over the interior of the skin, 
removing all the fat and flesh. 

After this part of the work has been performed 
thoroughly, the skin should be stretched out and 
tacked with the flesh side exposed to the air, in a dri/, 
cool place in the shade — n€ver in the sun. Allow the 
skin to become thoroughly dry, after which it may be 
wrapped up, put away, or safel}^ shipped. If the 
weather is wet or damp, give the hide a heavy coat- 
ing of salt after it has been stretched out. Be sure 
that the air can reach all parts, such as the face and 
the inside of the tail and feet. If proper care is used 
in exposing these parts to the air, the skin will dry 
evenly, with no danger of the hair slipping. 

The whole secret of taking care of a hide in the 
fields is here briefly stated. Skin it out absolutely, 

[1081 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

fully, and completely, and without exception into 
every part, nook, comer, and cranny. Dry it in the 
shade, and get it to the taxidermist as soon as you 
can. If you have to keep the hide on hand for some 
time, roll it up after it is dry, and cover it heavily 
with naphthaline-flakes, or pack a large quantity of 
moth-balls or smoking-tobacco around it, to keep 
the insects away. 

Bacon-beetles do more damage to hides than all 
other insects. You should watch out for them, and, 
if necessary, hang the hides out occasional^ in the 
air, and beat them, to remove any bacon-beetles or 
other insects that ma}^ have found their way into the 
hides. 

Never, under any circumstances, roll a fresh hide 
up, expecting it to dry in this way ; for ninety-nine 
times out of a hundred it will spoil. Do not wad a 
hide up into a dozen wrinkles, but have it nice and 
smooth, for the wrinkles are likely to cause the hair 
to slip from these places when it is soaked up. 

As soon as a bird has been killed, fill the mouth and 
all shot-holes with cotton to prevent bleeding and 
soiling of the plumage. Wrap the bird up carefully 
in paper, without disarranging the feathers any more 
than is necessary, and get it to the taxidermist as soon 
as possible. In the summer a bird cannot usually be 
mounted after it has been killed more than two or 
three days. In the winter it will keep a week or more 
without freezing, and will keep indefinitely if frozen 
solidly. 

In order to get the best results, however, the bird 
should reach the taxidermist while it is still fresh. If, 
however, it is impossible to reach the taxidermist be- 

[109] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

fore the specimen spoils, then it is necessary to skin 
the bird and preserve the skin only. This requires 
some skill and practice, but it is not nearly so diffi- 
cult as one might imagine before he has undertaken 
the work. 

The following explains briefly the method of skin- 
ning a bird for mounting: First make an incision 
down the breast from A to B, as shown in figure 5, 
using a sharp knife or scalpel. Skin to the right and 
left from this incision until the attachments of the 
legs have been reached, when the legs are detached 
between the long leg-bone and the thigh-bone, as 
shown at A in figure 6. Continue the skinning until 
the entire back part of the body is exposed, and then 
detach the tail from the body at B, figure 7. After 
severing the tail, continue to skin the body forward 
until the wings are reached, when they should be de- 
tached at the body joints at C and C in figure 8. 

Now continue skinning over the neck and head, 
being careful not to make any cuts in the skin. The 
skin should be inverted entirely to the beak. It will 
be seen that the skin of the neck and head will be 
wu'ong-side out at this time. Cut off the neck at the 
base of the skull, including a portion of the skull, 
as shown at H in figure 9. This wdll expose the 
brain, which should be removed. Dig out the eyeballs 
at J in figure 9, and throw them away. 

Now scrape and cut away all the fat clinging to 
the skin, and restore the skull to its natural position 
in the skin. Invert the skin over the leg-bones and 
wing-bones and cut away all the meat from the bones 
and skin. Also cut away all the cartilage and meat 
around the base of the tail, but not so much that the 

[1101 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

tail-feathers will be loosened. Use great care in re- 
moving the fat and flesh clinging to the interior of 
the skin, for this must be rightly done in order to 
presei-ve the skin properly for relaxing and mount- 
ing. 

If the skin is to be mounted soon, allow it to dry 
naturally without chemicals; but if it is to be pre- 
served for some months, cover the interior with pow- 
dered arsenic ; this will not only preserve the skin but 
will prevent insects from attacking it. In skinning 
birds with very large heads and small necks, such as 
ducks, woodpeckers, etc., it may be necessary to make 
an incision on the back part of the head, as the skull 
is so large it cannot be turned through the neck skin. 

In preparing bird-skins fill the body loosely with 
cotton and straighten all the feathers out nicely. 
Allow the skin to become dry ; then wrap it in paper 
and it will keep indefinitely. 

Every hunter and sportsman should be able to re- 
move bird-skins properly, for very often exceptionally 
beautiful and valuable specimens are taken in the 
field, when it is practically impossible to get them 
to the taxidermist for many days, or weeks ; and un- 
less one is thoroughly posted on preserving skins 
these trophies must necessarily be lost. After just 
a few attempts the sportsman can make up a dry 
ekin in this way, so that it can be relaxed and 
mounted almost as well as a fresh skin. 



[1111 



The Game Market of To-Day 

BY 

Henry Oldys 
Assistant Biologist, United States Biological Surrey 

THE game market of the United States is in 
a transition stage. The past history of the 
country has been marked by waste of its 
natural resources; the future will probably be gov- 
erned by careful conservatism ; we are at present mid- 
way between the two extremes, and this condition 
is reflected in the game markets, which show all the 
irregularity and inconsistency that naturally accom- 
pany a period of change. The older countries of the 
world long ago learned the lesson experience is now 
teaching us, and it is significant that England has 
more game to-day than several sections of equal 
area in the United States. The wasteful methods 
of the past have resulted in the hasty adoption of 
stringent restrictions on trade in game, which is the 
chief drain on the comparatively small supply of 
American game remaining. This sudden change of 
policy has excited the antagonism of the vested in- 

[112] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

terests affected, and has been followed by a constant 
contest between officials charged with enforcing the 
new laws and market hunters and dealers whose for- 
mer privileges have been curtailed. Some game mar- 
kets, however, are as open at certain seasons as ever, 
though the former abundant supply is no longer 
displayed. 

The first colonists in America found the land teem- 
ing with game. The coasts and inland waters were 
covered with waterfowl; the forests were filled with 
deer, elk, wild turkeys, grouse, and smaller game; 
and the meadov/s and plains were swarming with 
prairie chickens and buffalo. During the migration 
period the waters were alive with waterfowl, and the 
bays and shores where swans resorted appeared as 
if dressed in w^hite drapery.^ "Mighty flocks of geese 
and brant" and "wild ducks innumerable" wintered 
in Virginia.' Wild turkeys, "the most important fowl 
of the country," were found in flocks of twenty to 
forty in all wooded parts of the land, and w^ere bought 
of the Indians by the New Netherlands colonists for 
10 stivers (20 cents) each (Van der Donck). Bob- 
whites and ruffed grouse were even more numerous, 
and were regarded as too insignificant to spend pow- 
der on. In colonial days Massachusetts even placed 
a bounty on ruffed grouse to protect crops. The 
heath hen, or eastern prairie chicken, now confined 
to Martha's Vineyard and reduced in numbers to 

^Van der Donck, Adriaen, Description of the New Nether- 
lands, 1653. Collections of the New York Historical Society, 
2d ser., vol. 1, p. 174, New York, 1841. 

sClayton, John, A letter from Mr. John Clayton to the Royal 
Society, May 12, 1688, p. 33, 1688. 

[1131 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

about 200, furnished an abundant article of diet to 
the colonists in New England and New Netherlands — 
so abundant, in fact, that articles of apprenticeship 
often specified that apprentices should not be com- 
pelled to eat its meat oftener than twice weekly.^ 
Pigeons were innumerable. The Indians used to 
gather in bands of 200 or 300 at their nesting places 
and feast for a month or more on squabs (Van der 
Donck), and dressed pigeons were sold in Boston for 
threepence a dozen. ^ 

Big game was plentiful. A good buck could be 
bought in New Netherlands for 5 guilders ($1.20), 
and often for much less (Van der Donck). The north- 
ern woods were filled with moose. Elk were so abund- 
ant that a hundred might be found in spring "within 
the compass of a mile" (Morton). Buffalo were 
numerous in all open country. A settler at Onondaga 
Lake, in central New York, estimated that 10,000 
buffalo were accustomed to visit the salt springs on 
his place. In two years he and some companions 
killed 600 or 700 for their skins, which brought 
2 shillings each. 

The settlement of the country, at first compara- 
tively slow, has latterly been exceedingly rapid. The 
line of advancing settlement required one hundred and 
sixty-one years to extend from the coast of Virginia 
into Kentucky (1606 to 1767), and nearly a cen- 
tury later it had scarcely crawled beyond the edge 
of the Great Plains, while now there is hardly a square 



^ Report of Massachusetts Commission of Fisheries and 
Game for 1907, p. 56, 1908. 

- There is now apparently but one passenger pigeon left, a 
female, 17 years old, held in captivity in the Zoological Garden 
of Cincinnati. 

[114] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

mile of tillable land in the entire country which is not 
settled. Though many spots are yet so wild as to 
permit a harbor (though not a safe one in open 
season) where native game may still be found in mod- 
erate abundance, and though migratory game birds 
breeding in northern wildernesses may yet pass in 
spring and fall with some suggestions of the former 
myriads, yet the important game of America is nearly 
gone, and without great conservatism in the imme- 
diate future will shortly disappear. 

It is interesting to note how late game has con- 
tinued to be abundant in some regions. A New York 
newspaper for July 23, 1772, advertising the sale 
at public auction of a tract of more than 100 acres 
located in what is now Harlem, in the city of New 
York, stated that it abounded with "wild fowl, as 
ducks, geese, pidgeons, quails, etc."^ On Long Island 
about the close of the eighteenth century "immense 
quantities of game and deer" were "found amidst 
the brushwood," and "great numbers" were "annually 
killed, as well for the New York market as for the 
support of the inhabitants of the island."^ In 1870 
the prairie chicken was said to be "found in most 
western States, but in the greatest abundance in 
Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, Iowa standing pre- 
eminent in this particular" ; and "carload after car- 
load," it is stated, were shipped every Winter to the 
seaboard cities :^ and in 1874 it was said to occur 



iWeld, Isaac, Jr., Travels through North America during the 
Years 1795, 1796, and 1797, p. 463, London, 1799. 
2Fur, Fin, and Feathers, p. 155, New York, 1870. 
* De Voe, Thos. F., The Market Book, p. 137, New York, 1862. 

msi 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

"in myriads"* at Council Bluffs, lowa.^ In 1906 the 
State fish and game warden of Iowa reported to the 
Biological Survey that the prairie chicken was "very 
scarce" in the markets of Council Bluffs and other 
Iowa towns, the few that were on sale having been 
imported from Minnesota and the Dakotas, and 
added: "Prairie chickens are becoming more rare in 
our State every year. . . . Their natural breed- 
ing place is in the wild-haj^ lands, which are becoming 
very scarce in this State." As late as 1892 game of 
all kinds was reported as plentiful in the Ozark Moun- 
tains of Missouri, and small game was so abundant 
that it was practically ignored by the natives.* 

Such accounts might be multiplied indefinitely. 
These are sufficient, however, to show how recent and 
rapid has been the change from abundance to com- 
parative scarcity in many regions as settlement has 
advanced, and to point out how imminent and yet un- 
perceived may be the danger of extermination of many 
species. Even to-day accounts are published of the 
enormous and supposedly inexhaustible supply of 
game in regions where, witliin a decade or two, the 
sportsman will probably be making earnest attempts 
to restock exhausted covers. 

As game has decreased, prices have risen. By 
1763 game had been so reduced, especially along the 
Atlantic coast, that although a short distance inland 
there was an apparently limitless supply, the growing 



sCoiies, Elliott, Birds of the Northwest, p. 420, Washington, 
1874. 

^Shewey, Arista C, Shewey's Guide and Map to the Happy 
Hunting and Fishing Grounds of M*ssouri and Arkansas, p. 5, 
St. Louis, 1893. 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

scarcity had begun to manifest itself in the markets. 
On August 24, 1763, a committee selected by the 
"freemen and freeholders" of New York to "assize" 
market prices of meats and provisions, published the 
following schedule of the prices for game:^ 

Venison (maximum price) per lb. 5d. 

Pigeons per doz. 18d. 

Quail each IVgd. 

Heath hens " 15d. 

Partridges " Is. 

Black and other large ducks " Is. 

Teal and other small ducks " 6d. 

Turkey cock " 5s. 

Turkey hen " 3s. 6d. 

Turkey cock (poult) " 2s. 3d. 

Turkey hen (poult) " Is. 9d. 

Wild goose " 2s. 

Wild goose (inunature) " 18d. 

Brant " 15d. 

Snipe (large) per doz 15d. 

Snipe (medium) " " 12d. 

Snipe (small) " " 6d. 

Other small birds " " 6d. 

It is interesting to compare these prices with the 
following (wholesale) prices in the New York markets 

in 1910:^ 

Grouse, domestic per pair $3.00 

Grouse, foreign " " $1.25 to 1.75 

Partridge, domestic " " 3.50 to 4.00 

Woodcock, domestic " " 1.50 to 2.00 

Golden plover per dozen 2.50 to 3.50 

English snipe " " 2.00 to 3.00 

Canvasback duck per pair 2.25 to 3.00 

Redhead duck " " 1.50 to 2.50 

Mallard duck " " 1.25 

Bluewing teal " " .75 to 1.00 

Greenwing " " .75 to .90 

Broadbill duck " " .50 to .75 



^ New York Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin, 
October 20, 1910. The wholesale prices of New York are used 
merely for purposes of comparison with the earlier prices in the 
same market. They must not be taken as typical of general 
market prices throughout the United States in 1910. 

5De Voe, Thos. F., The Market Book, p. 142, New York, 1862. 

[117] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

Rail, No. 1 per dozen 1.00 

Rail, No. 2 " " .60 

Venison, whole deer per pound .22 to .25 

Venison, saddle " " .30 to .35 

The advance in prices can be well shown by a com- 
parative statement of the price of a whole carcass of 
venison. Assuming that a large deer, such as would 
find its way readily to the New York market, would 
weigh 175 pounds, and remembering that an English 
penny is about 2 cents, we can compare the prices of 
1653, 1763, and 1910, thus: 

1653. Whole deer, $1.20. 

1763. Whole deer, $17.50 (maximum price). 

1910. Whole deer, $43.75 (maximum price, wholesale).^ 
The comparison in the table below of some New 
York prices of 1763 and 1910 with London prices of 
1910^ for the same or similar game, yields significant 
results. 

Comparative prices of game r« the markets of Neio York in 
1763 and 1910 and of London in 1910. 

Partridge $0.24, $1.75 to $2.00 $0.16 to $0.24 

Grousei 30 1.50 .24 .36 

Mallard duck 24 .621/, .24 .36 

Teal 12 .371/3 .50 .16 .24 

Snipe (per dozen) 30 2.00 3.00 .08 .16 

It will be noticed that the London prices of 1910 
correspond much more closely to the New York prices 
of 1763 than to the New York prices of 1910. 

The last wild buffalo of the United States outside 
of the Yellowstone National Park was killed in 1897. 



1 Heath hen in the New York markets of 1763. 

^ It is worthy of remark that in Alaska, which is the last 
part of the United States to be exploited, a whole deer could 
be bought at Ketchikan in 1908 for $1.50, very little more than 
was paid by the Dutch settlers in New Netherlands in the 
seventeenth century. 

• Taken from the London Times for October 14, 1910. 

[118] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

Antelope, elk, and moose will probably survive a little 
longer, while deer, under favorable conditions, will 
hold their own for some time to come. The original 
range of the buffalo extended from central New York 
to eastern Oregon, and from noi-them Mexico to 
Great Slave Lake, nearly touching the Atlantic coast 
in Georgia and the Gulf coast in Louisiana. By 1730 
the last buffalo east of the Alleghenies had been killed. 
By about 1810 none were to be found east of the 
Mississippi. In 1870 those that were left were con- 
fined to two great herds, the southern of which 
roamed the plains of eastern Colorado and New 
Mexico, southern Nebraska, western Kansas and 
Oklahoma, and northern Texas, while the northern 
herd ranged from northwestern Nebraska and western 
Dakota on the east to Montana and Wyoming on 
the west, and northward into Canada to the north- 
em limit of the original range of the species. 
Twenty-seven years later not one was left in the 
United States except a few in captivity. 

The elk was originally found as far east as the 
seaboard States and westward to the Pacific coast. 
By 1850 it was still to be seen in southern New York 
and northern Pennsylvania, and in the Allegheny 
Mountains in Virginia. It lingered in Michigan until 
1877 and in the Ozarks in Missouri as late as 1898. 
There are now fairly large herds in Montana, Idaho, 
and western Wyoming, and a few small ones scattered 
in four or five other western States.* 



iThe elk was reintroduced in the Adirondacks in New York 
in 1901, and the original stock of 23 has multiplied until by 
December 31, 1907, it was estimated that the herd numbered 
425. About 50 elk, which probably escaped from the Austin 
Corbin preserve, are now running wild in New Hampshire. 

[119] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

The American antelope, the only antelope found in 
the Western Hemisphere, which originally roamed 
the plains and prairies of the West in countless num- 
bers, in 1900 still covered a large area, but in isolated 
and rapidly diminishing herds. By 1908 these herds 
had been so reduced that it was possible to forai 
the following fairly close estimate of the remaining 
numbers: Colorado, 2,000; Idaho, 200; Montana, 
4,000; New Mexico, 1,300; Oregon, 1,500; Wyom- 
ing, 4,000 ; Yellowstone National Park, 2,000 ; other 
States, 2,000; total, 17,000. 

Moose, which have always made their home in the 
northern woods of the country, have fared better. 
In the eastern half of the country they still occur in 
Maine and Minnesota, and in the West in western 
Montana, northeastern Idaho, and the Yellowstone 
National Park and adjacent territory in Wyoming. 

Deer have been able to maintain themselves much 
better than other big game ; still, in about one-fourth 
of the States they have either been killed off or become 
so scarce that no hunting is permitted, and in the rest 
are generally confined to restricted localities. 

Quail have been reduced almost to the vanishing 
point in the Northern States, but are still fairly plen- 
tiful in the middle belt, and are moderately abundant 
in the South. Wild turkeys originally furnished the 
colonists with an unfailing supply of food, and were 
so abundant as to strike all visitors to the country 
as the most prominent and conspicuous of the inland 
game birds. Now they are comparatively rare. 
None are left north or east of Pennsylvania, but in 
some localities in the South, particularly where set- 
tlement has been slow, they are yet found in fair 

[130] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

abundance. Prairie chickens are still somewhat 
abundant in a few regions in the Mississippi Valley, 
especially in Nebraska and South Dakota, yet from 
the rapid settlement in that section and the ease with 
which the birds may be secured, they will undoubtedly 
continue to show a swift decrease. 

The various species of grouse that inhabit the 
country west of the Mississippi are similarly doomed, 
except that some few may survive in the interior of 
unreclaimed deserts or in the fastnesses of mountains. 
Their extermination in all accessible places is depend- 
ent merely upon the rapidity with which such places 
are utihzed for agi'icultural and otiier purposes. The 
same is true of the ruffed grouse of the East. This 
bird, once so numerous as to be rated in the Massa- 
chusetts colony as a pest, is now carefully protected 
throughout its range, and in the few markets in which 
it is still on sale sometimes brings as high a price 
at retail as $5 a pair (New York, 1910). The grow- 
ing scarcity of the woodcock was discussed in the 
Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for 
1903.^ Of waterfowl it may briefly be said that nu- 
merous as they may at times still appear to be, yet 
compared with their original abundance they are but 
few. Furthemiore, although in the fluctuations pro- 
duced by climatic and other natural causes they may 
seem at times to be recovering some degree of their 
foi-mer abundance, yet we must not allow these occa- 
sional years of comparative plenty to blind us to the 
rapid decrease which is in progress. 

In seeking the reason for the immense decrease in 

^ Fisher, A. K., Two Vanishing Game Birds. 

[131] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

the game of the country we have not far to look. The 
recklessness with which the early colonists destroyed 
the game that filled this land to overflowing is aston- 
ishing, even though such wasteful methods are usual 
in a new country. We find them selecting haunches 
of venison and leaving the rest of the carcass to the 
dogs and beasts of prey ; giving wild geese to their 
dogs ; and burning canebrakes, thus destroying the 
haunts of many game animals and birds, merely to 
secure a day's kill. Such practices continued to pre- 
vail on the border line of settlement as it advanced 
westward, and late in the last century numbers of 
slain buffalo were left to rot after their tongues had 
been cut out. 

As settlement progressed, a new and far more 
potent agent of destruction arose in the growing 
and unregulated trade in game. Just as our forests 
have been converted into lumber at the demands of 
trade, so meadow and forest have been depleted of 
game for commercial reasons. The destructive power 
of unrestricted trade in game has latterly been 
greatly intensified by the development of cheap and 
rapid transit and of cold storage ; and had it not 
been for the final adoption of measures limiting the 
market supply, our game would be practically gone, 
or at least utterly beyond the reach of the moderate 
purse. 

A third factor which has operated to reduce our 
stock of game, and one of no less importance than the 
other two, has been the conversion of wild into cul- 
tivated land. Forests have given way to plowed 
fields, meadows have been tilled, and swamps have been 
drained. These places when wild furnish suitable 

[122] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

homes for game animals and birds, and their occu- 
pancy by man has permanently reduced the stock of 
game by depriving it of available shelter. As the 
country is more and more occupied by man, it must 
necessarily be less occupied by game; hence we can 
never hope to restore former abundance. Neverthe- 
less, by adopting methods of conservation adapted to 
present conditions, we should be able to preserve a 
fair supply of game indefinitely. 

Along with the disappearance of game has grown 
up a system of restrictive State laws. States have 
not, however, kept pace with the increasing need 
of protective measures, but have acted rather on the 
principle of locking the stable door after the horse 
has been stolen. Game legislation has usually fol- 
lowed a well-marked course. First, hunting in the 
season of reproduction has been prohibited; then 
methods of hunting have been restricted; then sale 
and possession of game in close season have been in- 
terdicted; next, all hunting of certain species has 
been suspended for a term of years, in order to allow 
recuperation ; then discrimination against non-resi- 
dents has followed ; and, finally, bag limits have been 
imposed and resident licenses established. These pro- 
visions are mainly directed to the hunting of game, 
but with the growing importance of the game market 
it has been found essential to deal with this phase 
of the subject by licensing market hunters, prohibit- 
ing export of game, forbidding sale at all times, or 
combining all these features. 

Laws prohibiting all sale and export of game are 
comparatively recent. Their necessity under the ex- 

[123] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

istiiig conditions was readily recognized and the 
growth of such restrictive legislation was very rapid. 

The principal game markets of the United States 
are Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. 
Until recently St. Louis belonged in the list, but the 
legislature of Missouri passed a law in 1909 closing 
the game markets of the State. Prior to that time 
St. Louis had been the depot for ducks of various 
kinds from Arkansas, Texas, and other States, quail 
from Kansas and Oklahoma, prairie chickens from 
Nebraska and South Dakota, and deer from southern 
States. Some of this game was distributed to smaller 
markets in Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois, but much of 
it passed on to Chicago, there to be distributed to 
various Eastern markets. Chicago draws on Micln- 
gan and Wisconsin for part of its supply of venison, 
and receives much southern game direct. New York, 
besides obtaining game from Chicago, serves as a 
depot for game from surrounding points, such as the 
Susquehanna Flats and the Long Island coast, which 
furnish large supplies of waterfowl. It is the chief 
distributing point for game imported from Europe, 
such as quail, grouse, woodcock, black game, plover, 
pheasants, partridges, and deer. Boston probably 
stands first in the trade in deer, derived chiefly from 
Maine. Philadelphia is supplied largely from local 
sources, but has obtained quail direct from points as 
distant as Oklahoma or Texas and deer direct from 
Canada and North Carolina. 

The game market is closed in Detroit, Milwaukee, 
St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha, and to all game 
but w^aterfowl and rabbits in San Francisco, and all 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

but rabbits in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus. 

Low prices prevail at New Orleans, and also char- 
acterized the St. Louis market when it v/as open. 
Chicago and New York prices run rather higher, and 
those of Boston still higher. Philadelphia prices are 
moderate, those of Baltimore and Washington lower, 
and those of Richmond, Va., very low, almost rivaling 
the prices of the New Orleans market. In other cities 
prices vary considerably; as a rule, however, the less 
important the market the lower the prices, though 
there are some striking exceptions. 

A few years ago much of the game on sale in the 
principal markets, particularly in the Middle West, 
was illegally procured. But since the passage of the 
Lacey Act and the establishment of more efficient war- 
den service in the various States, the Department of 
Agriculture and State officials have been able to co- 
operate more effiectively and most of the illegal traffic 
has been suppressed. 

Deer are fairly plentiful in the principal markets, 
though scarce in Washington, New Orleans, and Den- 
ver. Quail are at present more plentiful than they 
were a few years ago, and can be bought at from 
$2.50 to $5 a dozen, according to the market. RufFed 
grouse are scarce everywhere, and prairie chickens 
are practically out of the markets ; both species are 
frequently replaced by guinea fowl, which masquerade 
as grouse on the tables of hotels and restaurants. 
Wild turkeys are scarce or absent in all markets; 
woodcock also are scarce, and usually retail for 75 
cents each; snipe and other shorebirds are generally 
absent, and are not much in demand; ducks are still 

[135] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

plentiful in all markets, though local conditions 
sometimes diminish the supply. Canvasbacks and 
redheads command high prices in the East, owing to 
their quality. Canvasbacks, sometimes sold as high 
as $7 a pair in Washington and Baltimore, bring- 
only $7 to $9 a dozen wholesale at San Francisco. 
Mallards usually range from 75 cents to $1.25 each — 
double the price of the small ducks. Rabbits are 
plentiful, and furnish a cheap and constant supply 
of food. 

The invasion of the American game market by for- 
eign game is significant. Game is not only more 
plentiful and cheaper in European than in American 
markets, but it is sold at a lower price in the United 
States than corresponding American game. Thus we 
find foreign plover selling in Boston at $3.50 a dozen, 
while native plover in the same market are bringing 
$1.20 a pair, and in Chicago English partridges 
offered for $12 a dozen, while ruffed grouse are 
quoted at $22 a dozen. The principal reason for tliis 
apparent anomaly is that the European game mar- 
kets are largely supplied by private preserves, which 
are comparatively few in number, and near the 
market, and which can maintain their stock at a fairly 
constant point ; while the American supply is ob- 
tained from distant and numerous sources, and is 
derived from wild and practically unregulated stock. 
Another reason is to be found in the greater restric- 
tions in the United States on commerce in game. In 
Europe game may be sold and transported freely in 
the open season, while in America sale and trans- 
portation are necessarily greatly limited. Free mar- 

[126] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

keting of wild game leads swiftly to extermination, 
while game reared as private property may be mar- 
keted freely without reducing the stock. 

From the foregoing considerations it will be per- 
ceived that the game market of the United States has 
constantly decreased in importance as game has be- 
come less and population has increased. From a time 
when bounties were paid for ruffed gi'ouse and ap- 
prentices appealed from a diet of prairie chicken, we 
have reached the time when ruffed grouse are within 
reach only of the rich and prairie chickens are not to 
be had at any price. The meat of all big game except 
deer has been withdrawn from the market, and in 
many large cities even deer are not in the market, 
either because of non-sale laws or owing to the limited 
supply. Rabbits and waterfowl are still offered in 
some numbers, and quail are on sale every open sea- 
son in a number of cities ; but wild turkeys, once so 
abundant that colonists shot them from their door- 
ways, are rare in Northern markets and are found in 
very limited quantities in the South; while native 
woodcock and other shore birds are sold only in small 
numbers, if at all. The period has arrived when Euro- 
pean pheasants, grouse, and plover are rapidly 
replacing corresponding American birds ; and unless 
suitable measures be adopted for preserving and in- 
creasing our own game, we shall doubtless have to 
depend more and more on imported game for our 
market supply. 



[137] 



Practical Photographic Hints 

for the Camper 

By 

J. Horace McFarland 
AutJior of *^ Photographing Flowers and Trees,'' etc. 

THE animal photographer must obviously be in 
touch with his subject sympathetically. He 
must be a naturalist in the practical if not in 
the scientific sense. Some preparation is therefore 
necessary in the way of study before one even con- 
siders the apparatus and essentials for photographing 
animals. Is it birds that we are after .^ We must 
know what birds are most likely to be found in 
a certain location; what their nests are like; some- 
thing of their habits. We need to recognize their 
songs or calls. We are better able to use a camera 
if it has been preceded with a field-glass and much 
observation and study. Patience, too, the photogra- 
pher of animals needs to an abnormal extent. He 
must be willing to sit motionless for hours, only to 
be disappointed, perhaps, until repeated efforts bring 
success. He must add to his knowledge and patience 

*From "The Photo-Mmiature," by permission. 

[188] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

the best judgment; and to these perfect technique. 
The camerist who would succeed in picturing animals 
must be free from that uncertainty which accom- 
panies inexperience in the use of his apparatus. The 
landscape will wait and one can go to it time and 
again to correct errors of composition or of exposure ; 
but the animal model one finds, often after long travel 
and waiting, is not so complacent — there is often 
but one chance and that most uncertain and fleeting. 
The worker must use his tools unconsciously as it 
were, as one writes with a favorite pen, merely glanc- 
ing at it with mind fully concentrated on the subject. 
There is no time to think whether or not the dia- 
phragm has been set or the slide turned in the plate- 
holder when, after vigorous search and patient wait- 
ing, the critical moment arrives. 

If the aspiring worker will go afield, extreme com- 
pactness and portability are necessary in his ap- 
paratus ; and after this, strength and freedom from 
complication. Any attachments or movements of 
the camera which cannot be used v/ith the eyes shut, 
or which are in the least noisy or uncertain, have 
no place in the outfit for the new hunting. The 
camera, too, must not merely be strong enough to 
carry its lens and plate-holder; it should have the 
very large "factor of safety," as the mechanical en- 
gineer puts it when he calculates for a great bridge 
or a high building. Sometimes the camera may 
tumble from the tree or merely upset from the tripod. 
It should be so solid and secure that it will stand such 
an accident and still do its work. This means a little 
more weight to carry, to be sure ; but for animal 
photography beware of the featherweight outfit. 

[139] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

Shiny nickel-plate and varnished brass are all 
very pretty in the camera store but anything but 
desirable in the field. The Brothers Kearton, who 
were among the pioneers in photographing birds, used 
a variety of hollow-tree-trunk blinds etc., as adjuncts 
in their work, and with great success. The Amer- 
ican practice, however, seems to avoid any "dunnage" 
that can possibly be dispensed with. The experienced 
worker often carries with him one of the extremely 
convenient pocket cameras with which to take instant 
opportunities not available for the larger box. These 
complete little instruments serve a most useful pur- 
pose in the hands of skillful users who will know when 
and how to take advantage of their readiness. With 
proper care and practice in holding the camera steady 
during the quick exposure very sharp negatives may 
be had that can readily be enlarged to practical use- 
fulness. 

Recent literature has given us astonishing proof of 
the courage, hardihood, and skill of those naturalists 
who will follow an animal until pictures are obtained, 
regardless of danger or toil. A. G. Wallihan, for in- 
stance, has to his credit some truly marverous hunting 
and finding — for he has hung on with grim tenacity, 
"toting" an 8 X 10 outfit through deep snow, amid 
bitter cold and in desperate straits, until his plates 
have recorded the elk, antelope, koodoo, and wild-cat 
in full life and action in their native surroundings. 

Flashlight has been used with excellent results, 
especially in photographing deer in connection with 
"fire-lighting." Fire-lighting, as every sportsman 
knows, is the method of hunting deer at night. A 
small fire, usually a light resinous pine knot, is placed 

[130] 




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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

in front of a mirror, by means of which light is re- 
flected into the deer's eyes. Deer are very inquisi- 
tive and will invariably stand to investigate this, to 
them, extraordinary light, which dazzles their eyes 
so that they can see nothing else. They will even 
occasionally walk directly up to it. In order to 
photograph them successfully in this manner it is 
necessary to have two people working together; one 
to attend to the lire-light and flash, and the other to 
work the camera. The focus of the camera must be 
fixed at any distance from thirty to forty feet, and 
the operator must judge when the deer is at that 
distance, for it is impossible to do any focusing at 
night. 

W. E. Carlin, while upon a photographing and 
hunting trip in the Bitter Root Mountains, made very 
fine photographs of deer. He worked entirely with 
a very long distance telephoto lens and with its aid 
obtained his negatives at distances varying from 25 
to 150 yards from his subjects. 

The one great thing to remember in the photo- 
graphing of wild creatures is to get them in as 
natural and unconstrained an attitude as is possible. 
This can be done only when they are caught un- 
awares, as they are invariably more or less frightened 
when they know what is going on, and this fright will 
inevitably show in the picture either in the unnatural 
pose or some other unmistakable way. 

Followers of the gentle craft of angling are very 
often photographers, as we know; but the best fish 
pictures are made by those who are content for the 
time being to let somebody else handle the rod or the 
line. The ordinary incidents of coarse fishing — for 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

pike, jack, barbel, and the other prey of rivers and 
lakes, are well within ordinary hand-camera treat- 
ment; so, too, is sea-angling, that is, fishing with a 
line from a pier, or an open boat. The characteristic 
attitudes of anglers with the rod, the play of the fish 
in the water, and the landing, are not incidents of 
remarkable velocity. 

Photographing a leaping fish, especially if the 
creature be of the size of a tarpon, is a matter of 
special difliculty. Julian A. Dimock, who succeeded 
in the work, tells how, and the hints he gives are ap- 
plicable to all kinds of sporting angling. He advises 
the use of a hand-line and playing the fish to en- 
courage his aerial performance. The chief trouble is 
to know where, or at what distance from the camera, 
the fish is going to jump. To overcome this trouble, 
Dimock made his line with ribbons, so that he can 
keep tab on how much line is out. At 25 feet from 
the hook is a red ribbon, at 50 feet is a blue one, at 
100 feet a white one; thus the distance of the fish can 
be approximated. If at the moment of the jump the 
line is taut, the mark accurately gauges the dis- 
tance; and if the fish jumps straight up a sharp 
image will be obtained if the camera has been focused 
for a corresponding distance. A scale on the camera 
is necessary. One that can be focused by the sense 
of touch alone is useful, as then the eyes are free to 
watch the marks on the line and to follow the direction 
of the fish. The difficulty is that the fish cannot be 
held at a particular mark and that he may not jump 
straight up — his movements are notoriously erratic. 
Dimock discounts the practical value of sights, or 
cameras in the form of a gun, ana urges that a little 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

practice with merely holding the camera on the knees 
or against the chest will enable one to center the ob- 
ject on the plate and in most cases keep the horizon- 
line level. In practice, he sits aft in the boat, as far 
toward the stern as he can get, the fisherman on the 
thwart behind him, the oarsman rowing from the for- 
ward seat. It rests mainly with the man at the line 
to keep the tarpon where he is wanted; and this by 
playing him with a light strain between times while 
the photographer is changing plate-holders, or when 
the fish comes in on the line, or by putting on a 
heavier strain when he seeks to run away. No de- 
pendence can be placed on the jump of the creature — 
when or how or where it will occur ; it is quite "up" to 
the photographer to be ready for the exposure, and 
make a dead shot as often as he can. 

The exposures vary from 1-200 to 1-800 of a sec- 
ond, and the stop of the lens from full aperture to 
f-16. Dimock has made exposures with a ray-filter; 
but light, surroundings, and conditions of the water 
make this a variable quantity. His partiality is 
for a lens fairly wide open so as to get a fully- 
timed negative. Philosophically he adds : "After all, 
the length of exposure and the stop used are of small 
account. Get the fish in front of your camera ; have 
the focus approximately correct; and you can hardly 
spoil the result." Not every reader of this article 
will go tarpon fishing; but the practical hints given 
on the photographic side of the matter will be found 
to apply to most kinds of angling. 

It is almost certain that the beginner in bird- 
photography will want to make nest pictures. The 
true method, that used by the successful enthusiasts 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

who have added so greatly to our bird knowledge as 
well as to our store of bird pictures, is to photograph 
the nests where they belong. Upon nest and bird 
photography L. W. Brownell writes : "The nests built 
on the ground, or within a few feet of it, present an 
easy mark, but those that are placed high up among 
the branches of the trees, and particularly, as fre- 
quently happens, when they are at the extremity of 
some branch — these are the ones that tax the in- 
genuity of the operator to the utmost limit. . . . 

"In order to show the eggs and inner construction 
of the nest (of the woodpeckers, wrens, and other 
birds which breed in excavations in the limbs or 
trunks of trees), two methods may be followed: 
Either cut away the wall of bark from the entrance- 
hole down to the nest, or else, after removing the eggs, 
ascertain by means of a small stick the exact depth 
of the hole, and with a small key-hole saw cut out 
a square hole into the nest, leaving the remainder 
of the wall complete. 

"Photographing the nests of the tree builders is a 
much more difficult problem. It is then necessary 
either to lash the tripod to several of the limbs, or 
else to fasten the camera to some of them by means 
of a ball-and-socket clamp." 

If the nest is on the ground or in a low bush, the 
task is not difficult. Set up the camera from eight to 
twelve inches higher than the nest. The eggs are the 
point of interest ; and with the camera looking slightly 
down, both the inside and the outside of the nest can 
be shown, and a correct idea of its construction given. 
Some small nests are very deep, and to see all the 
eggs the camera must look almost vertically down. As 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

a picture thus taken looks unnatural, we may compro- 
mise a little by raising the eggs on a tuft of cotton, 
taking care that the cotton does not show, and also 
that the eggs are not raised too much, or the nest 
will look unnaturally shallow. 

Given favorable conditions, the photographing of 
young birds is not unduly difficult. Here we must 
use rapid exposures, for even if the little creatures 
sit still they breathe rapidly, and so blur their down 
or budding feathers. The camera may be focused on 
the nest, as when photographing the eggs. Just 
before the birds are ready to leave the nest they offer 
new possibilities, for they may be handled and placed 
on some limb, where the chances are that they will 
stay. 

So far, we have dealt with the photography of 
living or moving objects ; a branch of work in which 
hand-camera speed and portabihty are desirable. In 
landscape photography there are more occasions when 
the use of a tripod is necessary. Snap-shot work is 
a matter of seizing the passing incident; prompt 
decision and quick camera manipulation are required, 
for the object is moving all the time, and in a moment 
may be gone. In landscape work our first desire is, 
often, a picture. Nothing is to be gained by haste; 
we must study and criticise our view, look at it from 
various points, giving differences of arrangement 
and light, and finally select the best. The real pleas- 
ure of landscape photography begins not with the 
exposure, but with the preliminary work — the study 
and selection of the subject; and the more care put 
into these the greater is the anticipatory pleasure in 
following the negative through development and 

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THE CAMPERS OWN BOOK 

printing, and the satisfaction with the final print. 

The success of a picture depends largely on a care- 
ful selection of viewpoint. Our subject may have 
for its principal interest a building or a waterfall, or 
it may be a mere view — a woodland glade or a stretch 
of country selected for its beauty. In either case we 
shall find that it has many aspects and that some 
are palpably better than others. Let us consider a 
scene with a building as the center of interest; prob- 
ably it has a "front" or one part which should cer- 
tainly appear in the picture. Look at the building di- 
rectly from the front and then see whether it would not 
be better to choose a comer view, showing the front 
and one side, both in perspective. There is a rule 
that a building should be photographed from 
a distance three times its lieight. It is a 
good rule, but one tliat was enunciated before 
the advent of the compact hand-cameras, and so we 
need not follow it lite^alh^ The light must be con- 
sidered; if the front of the building is all in shadow, 
or all in sunshine, it may appear flat. A diagonal 
lighting, with bold shadows, is often good pictorially. 
At certain times the light may be flecked on the build- 
ing through trees, and this may make or mar the pic- 
ture. It may be that a building surrounded by trees 
can best be photographed in winter, or in early spring 
when the trees are budding with green, but before 
the leaves have become thick. But we have said 
enough to emphasize the importance of the point of 
view. 

This is not a treatise on art photography, but we 
shall give one or two of the simplest rules to be ob- 
served by those who desire to get any pictorial quality 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

in their work. We have just shown how choice of 
Hghting, viewpoint, or even season may affect a pic- 
ture. The first rule of composition is that symmet- 
rical balance is not advisable in a picture. The sky- 
line, which is present in most landscape pictures, 
should not cut across the center of the picture, divid- 
ing it into equal parts. It is better to let the 
sky occupy either one-third or two-thirds of the pic- 
ture. In distant subjects, such as views of extensive 
country or lake, the horizon-line may be low, giving 
two-thirds of the picture to sky; in nearer "fore- 
ground" subjects the line may be raised, making the 
sky one-third only. Of course, rules are suggestive 
rather than absolute ; more often than not the sky- 
line is uneven and we may even have a well-balanced 
picture in which the sky-line runs across the plate 
from an upper corner to the opposite lower one. 

The principal object in a picture should not be 
in the centre, nor should it be too near the edge. As 
far as a rule can be given, it should be about two- 
fifths of the distance from one side of the plate to 
the centre. Thus, if we photograph a house, choosing 
a side view so that we see the front and one end, the 
house should be at one sirle of the centre, with the 
greater space in front of the house. In photograph- 
ing a view with a road in it, we spoil our picture by 
standing in the centre of the road and representing 
it as an inverted V, dividing the picture. We should 
move a little to one side and represent the road run- 
ning diagonally across the plate ; probably with a 
bush or strip of grassy road-side in the foreground. 

The noon hours are not the best for photography. 
Earlier or later the light is softer and less glaring, 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

and when the sun is lower we get longer shadows, 
which are often useful in a picture. A golden rule 
in photography is to expose long enough to get 
detail in the shadows. Unless shadows are trans- 
parent — that is, unless we can see the objects in 
shadow — the photograph is of little pictorial value. 
Under-exposed prints, giving solid black shadows, 
are frequent in elementary amateur photography. 
While we are sufficiently exposing our shadows we 
are over-exposing the high lights, but this is a lesser 
evil. A developer may be used which will bring up* 
detail in full-exposed shadows without clogging or 
over-developing the lighter parts ; but no developer 
can bring detail from under-exposed plates. 

In some ways brilliant sunlight is bad, photo- 
graphically. When we are photographing trees we 
may have a thousand tiny reflections from glossy 
leaves, and these many points of light destroy any 
feeling of restfulness in the picture. The difficulty 
can be avoided in portraiture by posing the figure be- 
fore some bush without the reflecting leaves. In 
landscape work we must be careful not to choose a 
sparkling subject. If some beauty or arrangement 
of the trees particularly pleases, the subject should 
be noted and returned to at a more favorable time. 
A cloudy day or the soft light of the evening may 
make all the difference in the picture. 

There has been much scoffing from time to time at 
pictures lacking detail, or giving a misty eff'ect. Not 
a few beginners, however, have ambitions in this 
direction. Unfortunately, there is no royal and easy 
road to success. There must be both a fair knowledge 
of the manipulations of photography and an under- 

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standing of what effect is required before the pho- 
tographer endeavors to obtain it. For pictorial 
effects are not usually chance ones. As far as the 
manipulation is concerned, one of the first steps is a 
very careful adjusting in focusing. By altering the 
focus and the stops, various parts of the picture may 
be thrown slightly out of sharp register. Special 
development for a soft negative is followed by a 
choice of printing paper. And, either on the negative 
or during or after printing, hand-work or local 
control may be practised. A hand-camera has a good 
lens, intended to give detail throughout a picture, and 
it is as well, in the early stages of photography, to be 
content with this and not hanker after diffusion. 

To the envy of his friends, the photographic 
vacationer sometimes displays pictures of camp-fires 
in which the lighting apparently comes from the fire 
and night is represented by a dark background. 
Such pictures are usually made either by a flashlight 
operated in the usual way or by throwing flashlight 
powder into the fire. This latter is a somewhat 
dangerous proceeding unless the powder be pure mag- 
nesium. Pictures can be made, however, by firelight 
alone, and the genuine thing is usually more realistic 
than the artificial. Exposures will range from five to 
thirty seconds and should by all means be made upon 
backed plates. The brighter the fire and the shorter 
the exposure, the more satisfactory the pictures will 
be. A very bright fire will supply sufficient light to 
photograph surrounding faces in a few seconds, and 
these few seconds of time will not be sufficient for 
the fire to form simply a blur upon the plate. The 
development of the fire itself can be helped by the 
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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

application of bromide of potash solution on a small 
camel's-hair brush. The flowing lines of flame can 
thus be very delicately emphasized with advantage, 
but the "faking" must be skilfully done or it will be 
detected. 



[140] 



The Destruction of Our 
Forests 

BY 

Rudolf Cronau 
Author of ''Our Wasteful Nation'' 

[The question of forest conservation, latterly so 
much agitated in this country, is one that actively 
concerns all those who camp or are interested in 
camp life. Those who will consult our library cata- 
logues or periodical indices will readily discover that 
in the last few years a great mass of material has 
been written on this subject. Amid some of this 
there has, perhaps, been exaggeration in statement; 
but the evils of our past treatment of our woodlands 
are only too readily apparent.— We refer readers 
to such publications as the "Proceedings of the 
American Forest Congress" (1905) ; the "Primer of 
Forestry," by GifFord Pinchot (Forestry Bureau, 
Bulletin No. 24, Parts 1 and 2, 1899-1905) ; and 
"Protection of Forests from Fire," by H. S. 
Graves (U. S. Forestry Bureau, 1910). 

We present (by his special permission) the follow- 
ing by Mr. Rudolf Cronau. Mr. Cronau puts the 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

matter with an emphasis that should call attention 
to the facts.] 

When the first hardj colonists landed on our 
shores, the area now encircled by the boundaries of 
the United States was covered with about 62 per 
cent, forest, 8 per cent, brush, while the remaining 
30 per cent, was open country. The forests, like a 
mighty unbroken sea, covered the entire east and the 
centre of our continent in such density and luxuriance 
that they were not a blessing, but a hindrance to 
the settlers, who only with the greatest difficulty were 
able to clear amidst this mass of vegetation the spaces 
needed for their cabins. 

To-day 18 per cent, of our territory is under cul- 
tivation ; 24 per cent, remains open country ; 28 per 
cent, forest, while the brush land has increased to 
almost 30 per cent. This increase of the brush is 
chargeable to only one cause — the destruction of the 
forests. 

As man made himself master over everything on 
the earth, so he won his battle against the forest. 
The settlers felled it, smashed it, burned it, till they 
got all the room they wanted. Their children fol- 
lowed this example and destroyed the forest with the 
same recklessness they would have used against their 
worst enemy. Surely, it is a reminiscence oi those 
hard pioneer days, that so many Americans neither 
love nor respect trees, but have only one thought 
about them, and that is to cut them down. 

The rapidly growing immigration, the erection of 
new homes for a multiplying population, the creation 
of new settlements, towns, and cities increased the 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

demand for lumber and enhanced its value. Great 
quantities were needed to build houses and stables, 
to provide furniture, wagons, vessels, boats, bridges, 
roads, and a thousand other things. Large quantities 
were required in regions, here and abroad, where wood 
was scarce, and thus originated the lumber industry 
of America, which developed in time to one of the 
most important and most successful enterprises of the 
nation. 

The lumber trade is a legitimate industry, and 
one that should be so cherished as to insure its prof- 
itable permanency. But not all men thus engaged 
made proper use of it. The large fortunes flowing 
into their coffers awakened the greed for more; and 
through their haste to get the best and most valuable, 
the forests were wantonly destroyed. 

Nobody cared. Nobody had ever heard yet of 
"making conservative use of the forests." What for? 
For whose benefit.'' Were not these forests, the limits 
of which no one had ever reached, inexhaustible? 
And thus the wasteful and destructive forms of 
lumbering of the pioneer days were followed by all 
succeeding generations up to the present day. 

This fact is illustrated by the description of east- 
em lumber camps, as we found it in one of our leading 
magazines. "In the Maine and New Hampshire 
forests thousands of men spend the winter cutting the 
forests of the choicest lumber and destroying young 
growing trees on every hand in their haste to get 
ready for the high water in the spring. All the big 
sound trees of a desirable species are cut without re- 
gard to their surroundings ; withdrawing the neces- 
sary shelter from a crop of seedlings in one place, 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

killing others in the fall and removing of the timber ; 
here felling all the seed trees, so that there will be no 
reproduction; there clearing the way for a worth- 
less species that will promptly choke out the valuable 
ones ; cutting the best sections from the fallen timber, 
and leaving the tops and boughs and parts of the 
trunks to dry and rot and litter the forest floor with 
highly inflammable rubbish. Those parts of the tim- 
bered forest that do not degenerate into mere brush, 
grow a thin second crop of very inferior lumber, and 
sooner or later the inevitable spark, dropped by the 
locomotive or the camper or the lumberman himself, 
finds its way into the dry refuse, and what is left of 
a thousand acres or a thousand miles, as may be, of 
woodland, goes up in flame." 

The lumbeiTnen of our Northwestern States diff'er 
from their brethren in tlie East in their methods of 
lumbering, but not in the amount of waste produced. 
Speaking about the conditions in Wisconsin, Gov- 
ernor James O. Davidson said at the conference of 
the governors, at Washington, that only a few de- 
cades ago the northern and eastern parts of Wiscon- 
sin were one broad forest, broken only by occasional 
stretches of prairie land. Pine, hemlock, oak, and 
maple grew in such abundance that it was the State's 
proud boast that Wisconsin alone could supply the 
whole country with timber for a century. Amid its 
great forests were swamps and hundreds of small 
lakes, from which deep, swift streams rushed to form 
the rivers that added their volume to the Mississippi. 
But, with its great forest wealth and its immense 
water power, Wisconsin, like its sister States, lived 
only in the immediate present. Great timber com- 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

panics, inspired only by an enthusiasm and a greed 
which knew no bounds, attacked these forests, engag- 
ing in a mad race each to strip its territory, to mar- 
ket its lumber first, and then to move forward and 
continue the destruction. No tree was regarded as 
too small to escape cutting. Trunks six inches in 
diameter were cut for lumber. Millions of young 
trees and saplings, too small to have any commercial 
value, were crushed by falling timber or were cut to 
make room for logging roads. Those that escaped 
the axe of the loggers fell victims to forest fires, the 
destruction by which can be counted by only the mil- 
lions of dollars — a further melancholy evidence of the 
carelessness with which our forest tracts were 
guarded. To-day Wisconsin is beginning to feel the 
penalty for this indifference. Its proud position as 
the greatest timber State of the Union has passed to 
others. 

[Every camper who seeks water to float his canoe, 
suitable environs for his shelter, or cover for his game, 
must be desirous of the protection of the forests 
against the gross exploitation above pictured. Lum- 
ber, water-power, and other "interests" are ever alert 
and seldom distinguished for their altruistic motives 
or aesthetic appreciation. 

All campers should be particular not to do any 
more cutting of timber about their camp than may 
be absolutely necessary to clear a camp-site and 
provide building material and fuel. They should 
never deface the shore-line of lake or stream. Around 
many old camp-sites one will find a wanton destruc- 
tion of trees, which have apparently been felled for 

[145] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

the pure pleasure of exercise. Recreation in camp 
may be found in other ways than this. Campers 
should also be especially careful in the use of camp- 
fires and matches.] 



[146] 



A Modern Deerslayer 



By 

George Gladden 

THROUGH the wonderful October forest the 
old guide had led the way along a trail al- 
most obliterated by a rusthng, many-colored 
carpet of fallen foliage. Where the trail merged 
gently into a narrow, grass-grown aisle (a bit of long 
unused wood road), flanked on one side by patches 
of second-growth spruce and on the other by towering 
hemlocks and pines, he had halted. 

"This is as good a place as any," he had 
said, in a voice hardly above a whisper. "You 
stay right here till I come back, which may not 
be for a couple of hours. But you jest sit mighty 
still, and look sharp, and listen sharp, too, every min- 
ute ; for these fellers has mighty fine eyes, and if they 
see you fust, they jest natchally vanish like a shad- 
der." 

Then he had crept away as quietly as the rustling 



^By special arrangement with the author. All rights reserved. 
[147] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

leaves would permit, and had disappeared in the for- 
est. For this was to be a "drive" hunt for deer, 
wherein the "driver" makes a wide detour, and then, 
usually imitating the baying of a hound, works slowly 
toward the "watcher," who is stationed at a point 
near which a deer that is "jumped" in this way (and 
therefore not likely to be much frightened) is apt to 
pass while retreating by certain known runways to 
another part of the forest. 

Comfortably disposed on a moss-upholstered log, 
close by its brown and weather-beaten stump, the 
Watcher realized that there would be no lack of occu- 
pation for his eyes and ears, no matter what success 
might attend Uncle Myron's bogus hounding. For 
this was the famous Adirondack forest in the very 
height of its autumn glory — a veritable riot of scar- 
let and gold, of orange and ochers, crimson and 
greens, flecking or screening or throwing into bold 
relief the dark, corrugated trunks of the maples, the 
soft gray of the beeches, and the satiny white and 
yellow of the birches, while overhead the gorgeous 
canopy wove and interwove on the background of a 
turquoise October sky which seemed strangely near 
the waving tree-tops. 

A pufF of wind, and the tree trunks are dimmed by 
a dense, kaleidoscopic whirl of falling leaves, and the 
spruces are transformed into the gayest of Christmas 
trees by the hundreds of red and yellow sparks rest- 
ing softly in their dark-green masses. What man- 
made pyrotechnics could equal this dazzling color- 
shower of nature.? 

How marked, too, is the difference between the 
spirit of the deciduous trees and that of the ever- 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

greens ! Up there among the tops of the maples and 
beeches are the first violins and "Anitra;" while 
faintly from the swaying pines and hemlocks still 
farther aloft, and repeated more distinctly from the 
drooping draperies of the spruces, come the sighing 
crescendos and diminuendos of the violas and 'cellos 
— the ceaseless beginning of whispered mysteries, with 
the development of each lost in the beginning of an- 
other. The furtive billowing of the dense, almost 
opaque arras of spruce suggests concealed conspira- 
tors with drawn rapiers — 

A flash of white shines through the spruce copse 
close by the wood road about thirty yards away. It 
may be the white throat or the whiter tail of a deer. 
The Watcher slips gently from his seat and crouches 
against the stump, which is in Hne between him and 
the copse where the flash appeared. The barrel of his 
Savage rises slowly, the "safety" slips back noise- 
lessly, and the rifle is ready. Remember, now, the 
broadside shoulder shot, if possible. 

Another flash, this time tinged with blue. Then an- 
other, with more blue — a bluish-white streak, passing 
from one spruce to the next. The rifle barrel is low- 
. red, the "safety" slides forward, and the Watcher 
s ips back to his seat, to wait for the next movement 
r-^ the skulking blue jay. 

He hasn't long to wait, for soon the inquisitive 
prowler flashes into the farther side of a spruce hard- 
ly ten steps away, and then, determined to solve the 
mystery of the motionless figure on the log, works his 
way through the tree and perches on a dead limb, 
his fine blue and white plumage boldly outhned on 
the dark-green background. The shghtest movement 

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now would cause a precipitate retreat and the harsh 
cries of "Thief! Thief!" with which the jay an- 
nounces his opinion of an intruder upon his domains. 
But the Watcher doesn't stir. The jay peers and 
attitudinizes, cocking his head on one side and then 
on the other ; and finally, unable longer to control his 
consuming curiosity, flits directly to a stump within 
two or three paces of the Watcher. A single swift 
glance is enough, and with a flirt of his tail the bird 
is gone as swiftly as he has come, and as silently. 
His curiosity is satisfied, and if he has his suspicions, 
he keeps them to himself — which is the way of jays 
when they are not startled or angry. 

It has been no new experience for the Watcher, who 
has been investigated by blue jays more than once 
before, and by other kinds of birds and animals as 
well — experiences which can be enjoyed by anybody 
who will sit still and let the woods creatures gratify 
their curiosity and express their natural friendliness. 
Yet it has quickened his pulses, and has caused him 
for the moment to forget all about that crippling 
shoulder shot. 

"Ow! Ow-oo-oo! Ow-oo!" — faint and far away, 
borne on the same breeze which brings another deluge 
of color from the swaying trees. That is Uncle My- 
ron, playing hound. Probably it means that he has 
struck a trail, and perhaps he is working this way. 
The Watcher knocks the ashes out of his pipe and re- 
news his careful scrutiny of the forest as far as his 
eyesight will penetrate, making mental note of the 
appearance and arrangement of the tree trunks, 
stumps, logs, foliage masses near the ground, and 
light-and-shade effects. For though the wood road 

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is part of a runway, and the deer may turn directly 
into it, and so appear in plain sight, the animal is 
quite as likely to slip quietly by on one side or the 
other and strike into the swamp guarded by the 
hemlocks and pines. A fleeting glimpse of a shadowy 
something or a flirt of a white tail far away among 
the tree trunks may be the only signal the Watcher 
will have — 

Hello! There's a white-breasted nuthatch. No; 
it's his smaller cousin, the red-breasted, and one of 
the few members of the species the Watcher has seen ; 
yet the bird is easily distinguished from its relative by 
its red breast and the characteristic white line through 
the eye, as well as by its shorter tail and its more 
nervous and fussy manner. But it has the same 
topsy-turvy habits, and the same curiosity, too, 
which characterize its relative, for here comes this 
fellow headlong down a pine tree a few steps away, 
peering and pausing, pausing and peering with its 
little beady eyes straight into the face of the Watcher, 
and uttering the famiHar "part-part" of the white- 
breast, except that the note is pitched a little higher. 
The Watcher having been warned not to misbehave 
himself, away goes Master Nuthatch to another pine, 
then to a spruce, then to a pine, and so on until he 
disappears ; for in its preference for the conifers this 
bird also differs from the other nuthatch, which sticks 
pretty closely to the deciduous trees. 

Meanwhile Uncle Myron's bogus baying doesn't 
seem to be getting any nearer; in fact, sometimes 
it has been so faint as to be hardly audible. But 
perhaps he is following a trail along the farther side 

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of a certain pond away over there in the forest, and 
hopes the deer will turn this way. 

Well ! Can it be possible ? Yes ; that certainly is a 
white-throated sparrow in the underbrush, and sing- 
i/ngy too, at this season — not an unheard-of thing, to 
be sure, but uncommon, and therefore the more in- 
teresting. As usual at this time of the year, the 
little minstrel is abbreviating his full springtime ditty, 
and is giving only a few of the notes of the upward 
phrase; yet they have the same tremolo effect, the 
same half-hopeful, half-wistful quality, expressed by 
the complete song. And what a wonderful little aria 
it is ! There is nothing else quite like it in the woods 
in its appealing plaintiveness. Even that much 
greater artist the hermit thinish — 

There is a scurry among the leaves, a snapping of 
twigs, and a red squirrel bounces on to the end of 
the log on which the Watcher is seated. Up he comes 
instantly upon his haunches, showing his fine white 
shirt-front, with his little paws crossed daintily there- 
on, and gazes impudently at the gray slouch hat and 
the tan hunting coat hardly twenty feet away. 

"Now, who on earth are you, and what are you 
doing around here, anyhow.'*" asks Master Red, as 
plainly as words could have said it. 

"It's well for you I have another matter on hand, 
or you might find out what I think of your sort, my 
young friend," mutters the Watcher. "How many 
birds' nests have you robbed this year, you red 
rascal.?" 

"Ow ! Ow ! Ow-o-o-o ! Ow !" much nearer than be- 
fore; and then — Crack! That is Uncle Myron's old 
.38 — 55 rifle, apparently about a quarter of a mile 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

away, perhaps less. The squirrel hurtles off the 
log instanter, as the Watcher turns his head quickly 
and again peers into the forest. But the minutes 
pass and there is no movement, far or near, among 
the tree trunks; and then, with another flurry of 
leaves, back comes the red, and the Watcher can see, 
out of the comer of his eye, that the impudent little 
chap is again cocked up on the end of the log, sur- 
veying him. For several minutes the temptation is 
resisted, and then the Watcher yields and turns his 
head slowly. Instantly the red crouches and begins 
to fidget. Then a scramble, and he is a foot nearer; 
another, and he has advanced two feet more; another 
and another, and now he is within arm's reach. 

What a bundle of quivering nerves and tense little 
springs, ready for instant release, he is ! How his 
little lungs work — twice as fast as the ticking of a 
watch; and how his eyes snap, with curiosity and 
excitement, rather than anger! 

A heavily gloved hand moves ever so slowly along 
the log toward the crouching, palpitating little 
creature; but the red stands his ground, his black 
nose wriggling and his tail jerking convulsively. 
Within a foot or so of the red the hand pauses, and 
the Watcher steadies himself for a movement which 
must be quicker than the taut little muscles can pro- 
duce, when — 

"Hello-o-o !" 

It is Uncle Myron's voice, very near at hand. 
The Watcher's involuntary start puts an end to his 
squirrel-catching project, for with it Master Red 
has bounded off the log and sped up a tree, like a 
red-fire ball from a Roman candle. 

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"Hello !" calls the Watcher. 

"Come over here !" from Uncle Myron. 

And as the Watcher retreats down the wood road 
he is followed by a running fire of mirth and ridicule 
and defiance from Master Red, who declares plainly 
that he knew perfecty well what it was all about, 
and was never in the slightest danger of being 
caught by any such clumsy foe. 

At the base of a big maple stood Uncle Myron. 
There was a questioning expression on his bronzed 
face as the Watcher came up. 

"Did you see anything?" he demanded. 

"No," somewhat guiltily. 

"Hear anything?" 

"No, except your barking and your shot — if it was 
yours." 

"Well, look here." The old guide pointed at 
some soft, bare earth at the base of the tree, and 
there, undoubtedly, was the print of a small hoof. 
"See wher^ he come?" continued the hunter, as he 
took a few steps and pointed to the newly overturned 
leaves, with here and there the faint impression of 
fresh hoof-prints. "It was an almighty nice little 
buck," he continued. "And you didn't see nor hear 
him?" 

"No. But how do you know it was a buck? Were 
you close to him?" 

"No ; I was never nearer than thirty or forty rod, 
I should say; and I didn't see him plain any of the 
time. I jest took a long-range snap-shot at him to 
make him hurry up, and as a signal to you to look 
out, for he was comin' right in this direction from 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

the time I jumped him. But I could see he was 
a pretty good-sized deer; and the track shows he 
was a buck, because his hoof is blunt and more heart- 
shaped than a doe's, which is narrower and more 
pointed. Why, he come by within ten or fifteen rod 
of you!" 

"Could I have seen him if I had been looking right 
this way when he passed.'"' 

Uncle Myron stepped down to the spruce copse 
at the edge of the wood road. 

"You was sittin' on the log right against the 
stump, wasn't you.''" he called back. The Watcher 
nodded. The guide glanced back and forth several 
times, and then returned slowly. 

"Well, you might have seen him if you had been 
lookin' very sharp and he'd happened to pass by 
some hole in them spruce boughs jest as you was 
lookin' at it," he replied. "But when he come up 
over this ridge back yonder a little, them spruces was 
right in line between you and him, and so they was 
when he got along here. But if he had come five rod 
nearer, you'd been bound to see him, unless you was 
lookin' square the other way." 

The old hunter stood his rifle up against a tree and 
slowly filled his pipe, while the expression of disap- 
pointment upon his face deepened, as he glanced 
again in the direction of the spruces and the Watch- 
er's station. He lighted his pipe carefully, picked 
up his rifle, and turned away, sa3dng: 

"Well, come on ; we must be gittin' to carap." And 
then, half to himself, as he turned into the trail: 

"Certainly was hard luck; to come so close without 

[155] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

bein' seen. Al-mighty nice little buck, too. Hard 
luck." 

But somehow, to the Watcher it didn't seem to 
matter greatly, though he didn't say so to Uncle 
Myron. 



156] 



A Foot and Saddle Campaign 

BY 

Ernest Ingersoll 

Author of ''The Wit of the Wildr ''The Life of 

Mammals y'' etc. 

LET me omit the rough methods and vexatious 
delays of the first morning's setting out. Let 
me simply suppose the party fairly away, 
beginning its Summer campaign; and let us leave 
for the later experiences of actual mountaineering 
the details and routine of daily life, when the animals 
have quieted down, and we have hardened to a com- 
mendable regularity of work. Starting from near 
Denver, it is a day's march to the foothills, and, for 
the beginning, a long march, as you find at the end, 
somewhat to your surprise if you are an eager novice. 
The smooth, level plains, rising almost imper- 
ceptibly to the black wall of the forest-clad foot-hills, 
are covered with short, bunchy buffalo grass, al- 

•From "Knocking Round the Rockies" (Harper and Bros.). 
These experiences and scenes, which belong to two seasons of 
scientific exploration with the U. S. Geological Survey, depict 
conditions as they were in Colorado thirty years ago. Every 
camper will appreciate the vividness of the descriptions.— Ed. 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ready (though in May) grown sere; and the wagon 
track you follow dips and rises over greenish gray 
ridges in monotonous succession. There is little to 
charm the eye, save the gleaming peaks uplifted 
ahead — the glorious beacons for our progress. In 
Spring the weather is likely to be misty, so that the 
mountains do not stand out with as sharp and 
definite outline as they will later in the season; but 
the more prominent heights are very plain a hundred 
miles away. Long's Peak shows all his gigantic pro- 
portions, everywhere mantled in snow; and in clear 
moments I can catch sight of the silvery crests of 
snow-covered mountains behind, away in the interior 
of the Snowy Range. 

Rising abruptly from the plains, standing in 
orderly array, north and south, the peaks crowd 
together and tower up among the storm-clouds that 
drift past them, until, as you watch, it is the moun- 
tain peaks which seem to be moving, cutting the 
clouds asunder and dashing the flurries of snow from 
their fronts, as ships before a gale part the white 
spray of the waves. This grandeur of the tremen- 
dous contest of the elements among the serried ridges 
is better witnessed in this season of thunder-storms, 
when Winter disputes every step of Summer's ad- 
vance, than at any other time. The mountains are 
still piled high with snow, only the black crests of 
the cliffs streaking their white cones. And while you 
are watching the pure gleam of the snow, or the 
rosy play of sunlight upon it, an indigo cloud, dense 
and square-fronted with rain, will march up from the 
valley at one side, cutting off all the rest of the land- 
scape, while a similar phalanx will sweep up on the 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

left hand, hiding the other mountains behind its 
black veil, and together they will assault the moun- 
tain, whose white and lofty head stands out between 
them firm and clear against the angry sky. But as 
the storms strike the monarch's flank and chmb his 
sides and close about his base, sounding the long- 
roll in their thunder and hurling the bolts of their 
lightning, the dense blue-black of the rain is changed 
to the misty white of snow, the darkness gradually 
vanishes, the ammunition of the lightning is ex- 
hausted, and the mountain emerges from the battle 
whiter than ever with fleecy trophies of victory ; while 
triumphant banners of crimson and gold are hung 
upon the clouds so blackly defiant a moment ago. 

Beyond some grand exhibition like this, the pranks 
of a few ill-packed mules, or the early vagaries of 
the beast you ride, there will be httle to amuse you. 
This first day, indeed, is likely to be tiresome and 
unsatisfactory. You have not become accustomed 
to your mule, nor he to you. You are sunburnt, your 
eyes smart with the hot alkali dust — for the cool 
mountains are not yet reached — and your muscles 
ache with the unwonted labor of riding. If it 
happens to have been wholly in the wilderness, you 
have got along without much trouble, perhaps ; but if 
your road has led you through the miserable outskirts 
of civilization, you have been gazed at in an annoy- 
ing way, and chafl^ed on your "green" appearance; 
the mules have exerted themselves to enter every 
gate and doorway, to go anywhere and everywhere 
but where they ought; and the amount of caution, 
invective, and hard riding necessary to keep them 
together and under their respective packs has been 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

vexatious and fatiguing, conducive neither to obser- 
vation of scenery nor to the cultivation of Christian 
virtues. 

Indeed, on this initial trip, you get some new ideas 
on the subject of mountain mules. You learn, for 
instance, that they love company, cling together, and 
enjoy walking one behind the other in long file; but 
no mule has independence of judgment enough to 
lead a train, even with a bit in his mouth. On the 
other hand, all mules are "stuck after" a horse, as 
the muleteers phrase it, and advantage is taken of 
this to cause them to travel steadily, and to keep 
them together at night, by having a horse to lead 
the march. The horse has a stock-bell round its 
neck, and is ridden by the cook, who is thus debarred 
from anything except steadily plodding along; while 
the others can ramble off from the train as much as 
they please. At night the bell-horse is hobbled, and 
all the mules are turned loose to graze about the 
neighborhood, the tinkle of the bell giving us in- 
formation of their position in the morning; for there 
is little fear that they will wander away from the 
horse, unless stampeded, and that rarely occurs. 
Mules will go absolutely daft over a horse, and there 
are always fierce contests between the animals on the 
first day a train starts out as to which shall have 
the coveted place next to the leader. It often 
happens that for weeks afterward the victor has to 
maintain his position by constant exercise of heels 
and teeth, and with much mulish profanity. I have 
seen two mules fight so incessantly for the place next 
the bell-horse, when feeding, that they forgot to eat 
all day. 

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This quarreling among the animals, and the con- 
tinual loosening of their burdens, due to the fulness 
of their bellies, the stiffness of the new lash-ropes, 
and the weight of the loads, make frequent stops 
necessary, and more than one chase occurs after a 
panic-stricken runaway, which must be caught and 
repacked, while the remainder wait most restlessly. 

Here let me say a word about the art of "pack- 
ing." Years ago everybody used the old Mexican 
saw-buck saddle, and it still bestrides the lacerated 
spines of unfortunate burros; but generally it has 
yielded place to the Calif omian stuffed aparejo. 
This is fastened firmly to the long-suffering beast 
by all the strength of two men, who tighten the 
girth by bracing their feet against the upright 
mule's ribs. Then a long lash-rope, having a broad, 
strong girth at one end, terminating in a wooden 
hook, is thrown across the aparejo, and the pack- 
ing begins. The burdens are laid on so as to balance 
properly, and are held in place until all, or the main 
part, is in position. Then the ends of the lash-rope 
are handed back and forth by the man on each side, 
twisted and looped loosely in a way very dexterous 
but utterly indescribable, and finally, by moderate 
pulling, the whole net-work is tightened. The load 
is now criticised and balanced anew, small articles 
are tucked in, and it is pronounced ready. One man 
goes to the left side of the animal and seizes a portion 
of the rope which passes round the hook, while the 
other, on the opposite side, turns his back and passes 
the end of the lash-rope over his shoulder, so as to 
give him the greatest possible pulling power. This 
done, he calls back to his invisible mate, 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

"All set?" 

"All set." 

''Give it to her !" 

Then results a sudden and mighty strain in concert, 
a dreadful groan escapes from the poor mule, there 
is a stifled sound of creaking and crushing, and in 
an instant more the fastening is made and the work 
is done. This lashing is all one rope, but it is crossed 
and entwined till it seems half-a-dozen. On the top 
of the load it forms a rectangular or diamond-shaped 
space, which gives the process its name among the 
packers. To know how to do it is a passport to 
mountain society, and establishes your credit. I re- 
member once being alone at a stage station in Wyo- 
ming. I wore a partially civilized coat and hat, and 
hence was under suspicion among the party of men 
assembled. Foolishly venturing an opinion upon 
some subject, I was judged by the clothes I wore, 
and promptly snubbed. 

"What right have you to know anything about 
it.?" a big Klamath man hurled at me. "You're a 
tenderfoot !" 

"Perhaps I am," I answered, meekly; "but I can 
put the diamond-hitch on a mule." 

"Can you do that? Then, sir, you are entitled 
to any opinion you please in this 'ere court!" 

Even this lashing will not always hold firm, how- 
ever, against equiasinine contortions ; but it is in- 
comparably superior to the antiquated and cruel saw- 
buck. 

Here, in this Middle Park camp, just as we were 
sitting down around the table, using bowlders and 

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THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

war-bags and sacks of bacon as chairs, we saw ap- 
proaching at a leisurely lope over the prairie, a large, 
lean sorrel horse that showed good points, but 
seemed to have been roughing it quite as much as 
his rider. The horse bore a gaily-rigged ranger's 
saddle, behind which was slung the carcass of a black- 
tailed deer, whose flapping head and heels seemed not 
to disturb him in the least ; and in the saddle sat a 
remarkable man — a person of medium height, but 
of so powerful a build that his breadth of chest and 
massive loins seemed better fitted for a giant. His 
hair and beard were curly, and yellow as corn-silk; 
his face fiery red, through incessant exposure to sun, 
and snow, and alkah dust; but his eyes were blue 
as the little Lycaena butterflies flitting in thousands 
over the blossoming prairie. Across his shoulder 
he balanced a heavy, double-barrelled rifle ; his waist 
was girded by a red-white-and-blue cartridge-belt; 
from his boot-leg protruded the horn handle of a 
hunting-knife, and a six-shooter was strapped to the 
pommel of his saddle. He was dressed throughout 
in buckskin, from every seam of which depended a 
six-inch fringe of the same material. But his hat 
was a colorless sombrero, badly crushed. 

This was "Mountain Harry" Yount and his horse 
"Texas." He was a professional hunter, with whom 
later I became well acquainted through months of 
companionship in hard work — a notable man, of a 
type almost as foreign to the Eastern States as is a 
native of Japan. 

Yount's parents were Swiss, but he was bom at 
Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and so came by double 
right to his deep affection for the mountains. When 

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he was a child his father moved to Kansas, introduc- 
ing the boy at an early age to pioneer life. But, 
wearying of the plains, when eighteen years old 
Harry joined an emigrant train, and pushed out to 
Pike's Peak, driving oxen. Gold-mining, however, 
was not his vocation; and, stimulated by his innate 
passion for the freedom of unfenced nature, Yount 
quickly abandoned the rocker for the rifle, beginning 
the wild and lonely career he has since led. At that 
time such a life was far more lonely than at present, 
notwithstanding that he was able to get his game 
much nearer to the main settlements than is now 
possible. Yet the towns twenty-five years ago were 
far between, and wanderers among the snowy ranges 
or interior parks very few. Harry hunted prin- 
cipally in the Medicine Bow range, the lofty crests 
of which are about the only peaks of the Rocky 
Mountains the traveller on the Union Pacific Rail- 
way catches a glimpse of after Cheyenne has been 
left an hour behind. Here roamed the mountain 
buffalo, the broad-antlered wapiti, the agile black- 
tail, the shy, covert-loving Virginia deer ; every valley 
was haunted by antelopes, and all the crags were 
homes of the mountain sheep. Where there was so 
much tender flesh of course many beasts of prey 
were present — Harry once unexpectedly stepped into 
a convention of seven grizzlies — and hard experi- 
ence with these creatures added deliberate courage 
to the skill learned from seeking wary deer and trap- 
ping the small, shrewd game whose furry coats were 
coveted. To find out all the passes and game-trails 
through these unknown mountains — all the resources 
of living alone anywhere, and at any season ; to elude 

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or conciliate the Indians, all of whom were to be 
dreaded ; and, most of all, to become thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the distribution and habits of the 
animals and birds, was the task before this young 
hunter, and one looked forward to with eager 
pleasure. 

He was armed with stout hands, keen powers of 
observation, and strong enthusiasm. Never killing 
for sport, all his energies were directed toward mak- 
ing every grain of his costly ammunition yield a 
profitable return. He shot buffaloes for their robes, 
and what meat he could send a wagon after from the 
nearest mining camp, many a time slaughtering a 
whole herd by keeping himself concealed while he 
shot them one after another, or by riding them down 
in a long chase on Texas's back. Antelopes he hunted 
for the sake of the flesh. They were abundant on the 
plains everywhere, and his method was to drive a 
span of mules and a wagon to some point and hunt 
in a circle around it, killing a load, and then driving 
back. There is far more skill than appears in this 
kind of work. He once shot seventy antelopes in one 
day, in a match with a crack shot from the East, who 
was mightily skilful in scoring bull's-eyes, but found 
hitting a nimble prong-horn an entirely different 
matter. Difficult as this feat was, and much credit 
as it reflected upon him, Harry was always ashamed 
of it. It went against his heart to kill so many 
innocent creatures for only the glory of marks- 
manship. 

Harry was (and is, for he still lives in the West, 
as game warden of Yellowstone Park — and here's to 
you, old fellow!) a quiet, simple-hearted man among 

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a generation of ruffians fortunately growing less. 
Constantly supplying the workmen along the new 
trans-continental railways with meat, he never joined 
those orgies that used to characterize their hours of 
of leisure, or took part in the series of bloody quarrels 
that never ended so long as any combatants were 
alive. By nature a gentleman, under his sinewy 
frame and tireless strength there glows a heart which 
hates cruelty. His eye is open to every beautiful 
feature of the grand world in which he lives — ^his 
heart is alive to all the gentle influences of the 
original wilderness. Having been much alone, he is 
timid in new society, reticent, thoughtful, and given 
to framing fanciful theories to account for such 
phenomena as he does not comprehend. 

What stories he could tell round a camp-fire at 
night, when dinner was over, the big blaze had been 
built, and the pipes lit ! I had many a discussion 
with him concerning points in natural history, 
wherein he opposed life-long experience to the state- 
ments of the books in not a few instances. He has 
read much, particularly about the West, and writ- 
ten somewhat for newspapers, even indulging in 
rhyme now and then. A handsome man, but hold- 
ing in great contempt the long-haired fops of the 
plains who ape the style (because they can not rise 
to the heroism or skill) of Kit Carson or Buffalo 
Bill, Harry is as vain as a girl about his personal 
appearance. His belt, holster, knife-sheath, bridle, 
and saddle are all set off' with a barbaric glitter. I 
have known him to pay seventy-five dollars to a 
Shoshone squaw for the adornment of a single buck- 
skin jacket, which was a marvel of fringes, fur- 

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trimming, and intricate embroidery of beads. Yet 
his is not a peacock-like, strutting vanity, but a 
simple, genuine delight in bright colors and pretty 
things. He laughs quietly at it himself, but says 
he likes it. And why shouldn't he dress as suits him.? 
"Mountain Harry" could on no account be in- 
duced to leave his beloved hills. He is happy as a 
man on broad estates — indeed, he feels that he owns 
such, as, in truth, he does, to all purposes. He has 
an idea that he belongs there, and that those rough 
and desolate slopes, those mighty canons and towery 
walls of Hchen-stained rock, those forests hiding the 
sources of mighty rivers, those white peaks striking 
up into the azure, would miss him and grieve for him, 
as he would for them, if once he got beyond the in- 
vigorating chill of their snow-banks and the resinous 
fragrance of their pines. It is such a character as 
his that Thoreau addressed : 

"O man of wild habits, 
Partridges and rabbits, 
Who hast no cares. 
Only to set snares; 
Who liv'st all alone 
Close to the bone, 

And where life is sweetest 
Constantly eatest!" 
****** 

My first year's campaign taught me some points 
in camp-Kfe which would have lessened the hardship, 
if known earlier, information upon which may prove 
useful to some future wanderer. 

Anyone, for instance, who is of the opinion that it 
is not hard work to ride on mule-back in the Rocky 
Mountains an average of twenty miles a day for 
three months, is respectfully referred to practical ex- 

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perience for an answer. It is noteworthy, though, 
that the wisest entertains widely different views on 
the point of hardship at 6 A. M. and 6 P. M. At 
sunrise breakfast is over, the mules and everybody 
else have been good-natured, and you feel the glory 
of mere existence as you vault into your saddle and 
break into a gallop. Not that this or that particular 
day is so different from other pleasant mornings, 
but all that we call the weather is constituted in the 
most perfect proportions. The air is "nimble and 
sweet," and you ride gayly across meadows, through 
sunny woods of pine and aspen, and between granite 
knolls that are piled up in the most noble and 
romantic proportions. But later you toil up a moun- 
tain thousands of feet high, tramp your weary way 
through the snow and loose rocks heaped upon its 
summit, "observe," and get laboriously down again; 
or search through forty ledges and swing a cease- 
less hammer in collecting fossils ; or march all day 
under a blazing sun, or in the teeth of a dusty gale, 
munching only a sandwich as you plod along — till 
gradually your "glory of existence" oozes away, and 
the most dismal reflections arise to keep company 
with your strained muscles. How welcome after that 
is the evening bivouac, when there is rest for the 
aching limbs, and no longer need to tighten the belt ! 
The busy hour between the end of the march and 
sitting down to dinner quickly passes, and the meal 
is not hurried; after that, leisure and the solid com- 
fort of camping. 

It is astonishing how gi^eatly recuperated one feels 
after half an hour's rest and his dinner, following 
the most tremendous exertions all day. Sometimes 

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it seems, when camp is reached, that one has hardly 
strength to make another move ; but after dinner one 
finds himself able and wiUing to do a great deal. 
This, as I have alread}^ said, is the hour for exploring 
the neighborhood, preparatory to next day's work; 
for investigating the natural history of the locality, 
or putting up the specimens accumulated during the 
day; for mending harness and arms and clothes, and 
writing memoranda, or perchance letters, against a 
possible opportunity to send them out to the civilized 
world by some Indian or friendly trapper. But the 
most important work is the making of your bed. It 
is the one thing in this wandering life that you can- 
not afford to neglect, and which, if neglected, is the 
cause of more hardship, distress, and possible illness 
than any other one thing which it is possible to guard 
against. Nevertheless, unless the camp is to be fixed 
in that spot for several days, it is not usual to put 
up the tents, except when the weather is stormy. 

These tents are of the army pattern known as 
"dog-tents" — just large enough for two persons to 
stretch themselves out, side by side, but not more 
than three feet high, even under the ridge. The 
canvas is of good quality, however, and will stand a 
severe rainfall without wetting through, so long as 
the inside of the cloth is not touched. If the precau- 
tion is taken to dig a ditch around the tent, so that 
the water will run away and not spread underneath 
the edges, making pools on the floor, you will find 
3^ourself secure from all storms. But, as a rule, one 
doesn't bother to put up a tent. 

No matter how firmly resolved you may be upon 
roughing it, you soon find that it pays to keep your 

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bed dry and warm, and to spend all needed time in 
making it up. Hardship enough will be inevitable ; 
needless exposure is foolish. The proper supplies in 
the way of bedding consist of the following articles : 
a piece of moderately heavy canvas-ducking, water- 
proofed, fourteen feet long by four feet wide; a 
buffalo-robe, trimmed into a rectangular piece suffi- 
cient to lie at full length upon; two pairs of thick 
California blankets, and a small pillow. This ap- 
pears to be the list settled upon by the best experi- 
ence. All are light and warm, and can be rolled up 
inside the canvas and strapped into a cylindrical 
bundle, so compact as easil}^ to be carried in one 
hand, and so tight that it may be rained upon all 
day and not be wetted through. The California 
blankets are expensive, but it is better economy to 
buy them. A pillow is a great comfort; lacking it, 
one finds a fair substitute in his boots, saddle, war- 
bag, or even in a piece of wood. A thick night-cap is 
more convenient than your broad-brimmed hat to sleep 
in ; and nothing warms chilled feet so much in bed as 
dry woolen socks, which may be kicked off later in 
the night. 

At every opportunity air the bedding thoroughly 
in the sunshine. Then, before the evening dew comes, 
stretch out your long piece of canvas, lay the buffalo- 
robe smoothly on the upper end, double your 
blankets, and place them one over the other upon 
the robe. After smoothing out every wrinkle, the 
two blankets together are evenly folded once over 
lengthwise, the remainder of the canvas (seven feet) 
is drawn up over the foot, so that the toes cannot 
push through, and the bed is made. You have a 

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canvas, buffalo-robe, and four thicknesses of blanket 
under you, and (except the robe) the same over 
you, the blankets passing full thickness behind your 
back, which you will learn to place to windward. 
Then you fully undress, put your rifle, revolver and 
clothes under the flap of the canvas cover, to keep 
the frost off, slide gently into your rough, clinging 
blankets, pull the edges together in front, jerk the 
canvas over your ears, and — pleasant dreams to you ! 

Such is scientific bed-making; but there are nice- 
ties. It is important, for example, that the surface 
you lie on shall be, not soft — that is a little mat- 
ter — but level; sloping neither toward one side nor 
from head to foot. Unless you are sure about this 
you will slide out of bed in some direction. Common- 
sense would tell you to clear all stones and nodules 
away (though sometimes this is impossible) ; but only 
experience, or a wise friend, will teach the camper 
that his rest will be tenfold better if he digs a de- 
pression underneath his bed where his hips come. 
The reason why persons become so stiff who pass an 
accidental night on the floor, or on a railway bench, 
is mainly because they have had no support for the 
spine, such as the yielding bed affords ; all night long 
many muscles have had to keep on duty, bearing up 
the less prominent parts of the body. The spring of 
a mattress cannot be found in the ground, but it 
can be imitated by sinking the hips until the small 
of the back also rests upon the earth. Always dig a 
hole under your bed. 

If you are in fear of the cold (frequently an alti- 
tude is attained for which the bedding suflicient below 
is an inadequate protection, particularly if a heavy 

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wind is blowing or the snow is flying), a good plan 
is to fold your blankets, turn up the bottom as usual, 
and then stitch the whole together into a bag. 
Another way is not to erect your tent, which is little 
or no protection against cold, but to spread it over 
you and peg it down, or pile enough rocks around the 
edges to keep it from blowing away. The former 
plan I tried in 1877, with great success ; but it was 
the hardest work in the world to get into my bag, 
which was just large enough and no larger. I had 
to insinuate my body as gently as a surgeon probes 
a wound, in order to keep the blankets from drawing 
out of shape before I was inside. When once I had 
wriggled in, how snug it was ! I could not turn over 
without rolling the larger part of my bedding with 
me. Yet those very same nights, away up on the 
bald brow of a lonesome peak, when every man piled 
on as many extra canvas mantas and buffalo-robes 
as he could find, the mosquitoes were so thick that 
we had to build miniature tents of netting over our 
half-frozen heads to get any sleep at all. It was the 
most startling conjunction of Winter and Summer, 
zero and insects, that I ever heard of. 

But at such altitudes one must expect often to 
find it very cold at night, even in midsummer. 
Often, down in the San Juan country, near the head- 
waters of the Rio Grande, we woke up to find the 
canvas over us frozen as stiff as sheet iron. When 
one rises under those circumstances he gets into his 

frosty trousers with considerable celerity. 

****** 

After sunset the air in these high. Western regions 
grows rapidly cool, and a chill air from the snow- 

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banks seems to settle down and take possession of 
the warm nooks where the sunbeams have been play- 
ing all day. Now the long-caped, blue cavalry over- 
coats (bought in Denver or Cheyenne for three dol- 
lars apiece) are unstrapped from behind the saddles, 
fresh wood is piled upon the fire, the pipes are newly 
filled, and the circling smoke, exploring the recesses 
of the dark tree-tops, looks down on an exceedingly 
contented company. 

Then, as the fragrant herb glows in the pipe- 
bowl, and the darkness shuts in the fire and the little 
circle about it from the great Without, tongues are 
unloosed, and the treasures of memory are drawn 
upon to enliven the hour. All these mountain-men 
are great talkers, and most of them tell a story in 
a very vivid way — a way purely their own, sounding 
barbarous to other ears, so full is it of slang, local 
phrases, and profanity, but in a language perfectly 
understood and with a wit keenly appreciated by 
kindred listeners. Tales of Indian warfare and 
border ruffianism in the old days of the emigrant 
trail, the founding of the Mormon settlements, the 
track-laying of the Pacific railway, and the gold 
discoveries ; stories of the road agents — robbers of 
the mails and expresses — who never let a man out of 
the country with any money, and of the scarcely pref- 
erable vigilantes who sought to rid the mountains of 
these human Vv'olves, only to learn that the persons 
most trusted in their councils were the ringleaders 
of crime. Between the road agents and the vigi- 
lantes no man was safe; the former might kill him 
to get him out of the way, the latter might hang him 
on the single charge that the ruffians let him alone. 

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But the theme of all themes which is never neglected, 
and which lasts clear through the trip, is the mule. 

The mountain mule is a perpetual study. No 
animal in the world possesses so much individuality 
and will develop in a given time so many distinct 
phases of character. His sagacity in some directions 
is balanced by most desperate stupidity in others. A 
herd shows a wide range of variations in tractability 
and in other traits among its members. You cannot 
fail to note this in their different countenances, to 
which the long ears lend so much expression; but all 
their characteristics are positive, and are asserted in 
the most startling manner. They are crotchety, too, 
and it is often impossible to overcome their preju- 
dices. One I knew who would never allow himself 
to be caught to have his pack put on or readjusted 
until all the rest had been attended to; then he was 
quite ready and docile. Another was a good, gentle 
riding animal, and had no objection to your pipe, but 
you must get off to light it; strike a match in the 
saddle, and Satan entered into his breast on the in- 
stant. The same fellow had an insuperable objec- 
tion to entering water — an unfortunate trait, for be- 
fore crossing an unknown stream with a pack-train it 
is desirable to know what sort of a ford it is, and 
the man who rode this mule was the one whose duty 
it generally was to make the test. The animal would 
walk straight down to the margin, then rear upon 
his hind-legs and spin round like a flash. 

I had a mule once that would bray ferociously and 
incessantly whenever it was out of hearing of the 
train's bell. It was an excessively annoying habit, 
and, persuasion failing, I one day dug my spurs 

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into its ribs, and hammered its head first with a strap, 
then with the butt of my pistol, every time the hideous 
voice was raised. I felt that there was no sense in 
the absurd practice, and I was bound to break it. 
But after an hour or two it was hard to keep my seat, 
for about once a minute the beast would duck its 
head and jump as though propelled from a cannon, 
uttering a terrible bray, apparently just to invite 
punishment. So I changed my tactics, and paid no 
attention whatever to the habit, and in a couple of 
days had no further annoyance. Mules know what 
disturbs you, and malignantly do that one thing re- 
gardless of pain to themselves. Another mule I had 
was an examplar of this trait. He had a trick of 
swelling himself out when I put the saddle on, so that 
it was impossible to make the girth tight; I might 
as well have tried to draw in the waist of a steamboat 
boiler; and to secure the saddle properly I always 
had to catch him unawares, after we had got started. 
It is not easy to gain a mule's confidence, and, on 
the other hand, he rarely merits yours. I have known 
one to carry his rider in the most exemplary manner 
for hundreds of miles, and then one morning begin a 
series of antics and develop an unruliness as uncom- 
fortable as it was unexpected. Sometimes you can 
train them with considerable satisfaction, but you 
never feel quite sure of them. They are forever doing 
something surprising, heroically pulling through real 
difficulties to give up tamely before some sham ob- 
stacle. This is partly owing to their absurd timidity. 
If one scares, all the rest are panic-stricken. A piece 
of black wood, like the embers of an old fire, will 
cause almost any mule to shy. A bowlder of a cer- 

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tain shape was invariably regarded with distrust by 
one I used to ride. Rattlesnakes they hold in just 
abhon'ence; bears paralyze them with terror; Indians 
they cannot be spurred to approach. This exces- 
sivxe timidity is the result of their social habits. A 
mule cannot bear to be left alone; and although he 
knows he can go straight back from wherever you 
may take him, following the trail hke a hound, yet 
he considers himself hopelessly lost and forlorn when 
he can no longer hear the bell. It is his use and habit 
to go with it. It means everything which makes life 
happy for him, and he will endure very much punish- 
ment before forsaking it. However, two or three 
travelling together all day by themselves keep one 
another company and get along very well. 

This attachment to the train, while it has been the 
salvation of many an outfit, becomes a great nuisance 
on the march. Mile after mile you plod along in the 
rear at a right-foot, left-foot, right-foot, left-foot 
jog, which in the course of seven or eight miles wears 
out muscles and patience. The sun beats down, the 
dust rises up, and your only entertainment is the 
cow-bell hung on the neck of the leader. The first 
hour you do not mind it much; the second, it grows 
wearisome; the third, painful, and you hold your 
ears to shut out the monotonous clangor; the fourth 
hour you go crazy. All life centres about that tire- 
less hammering and endless conning, till, in unison 
with the ceaseless copper-clatter of that ding-dong 
bell, your mind loses itself in 

"Hokey pokey winkey wang, 
Linkum lankum muscodang; 
The Injun swore that he would hang 
The man that couldn't keep warm." 

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You cannot get away from it. What is misery 
to you is melody to the mule; and if you try to ride 
him outside of the music of the bell, he may, perhaps, 
be made to go, but it will be in such a protesting, 
halting, lame, and blind way, with such "uncertain 
steps and slow," turnings of reproachful eye and 
brayings of upHfted voice, that you will find it bet- 
ter to endure the evils of the pack-train than to 
attempt to escape from it. Of course, if you go 
clear away, out of sight and sound, the beast is 
obhged to content himself; but on the march this is 
not always pleasant or practicable. 

But a diverson awaits. It is afternoon. Every- 
body is dozing. The distant line of trees which 
marks the day's destination is in sight, and the 
mules have been well-behaved all day. Plodding 
along in front of you at a rapid walk, very demurely, 
heads down, eyes half-closed, ears monotonously 
wagging, you think they have forgotten all their 
pranks, abandoned all intentions of wickedness con- 
cocted in the restful leisure of the early morning, and 
you fall into admiring contemplation of their ex- 
ceeding docility and sweetness. Meanwhile the 
aparejo and load of a certain little buckskin-hued 
Cayuse mule have been slipping backward, and he, 
knowing it, has made no sign, but has quietly wrig- 
gled and swelled himself until he has got far enough 
through the sinch to try his experiment. With the 
suddenness and agility of a grasshopper he now 
gives a tremendous leap toward one side, bucks high 
in the air a dozen times in as many seconds, dancing 
about and kicking, stands straight up on his hind- 
legs, and falls over backward ; next he squirms rapid- 

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ly through the loosened girths until he can bring 
his heels to bear, and kicks boxes, bags, and bundles 
until the saddle slips down over his legs and con- 
fines them like a handcuff. Then he rolls over and 
quietly nibbles the grass within reach, waiting, in 
the most exasperating unconcern, until you shall 
come and release him. 

It will readily be understood that an Eastern man 
finds the tricks and treachery, Hvely heels, and dia- 
boHcal disposition of the mule a constant check upon 
the enjoyment of Western work and wandering. The 
mule-packers are the most desperately profane men 
I have ever met ; they exhibit a real genius in "good 
mouth-filling oaths." Considering the vexation to 
which they are subjected, and which they must not 
otherwise retaliate, lest they should injure the pre- 
cious endurance and carrying power upon which their 
lives depend, and which make mules far more valuable 
than horses for mountain service, it is not surprising. 
And though these strong and agile animals will stand 
for hours when the bridle-rein of one is merely thrown 
over the ear of his neighbor, under the delusion that 
they are securely fastened, they are very wise and 
cunning, and can doubtless talk among themselves; 
but it is an unfortunate fact that their wisdom is all 
exerted for wickedness, and their conversation used 
chiefly in plotting combined mischief. And it is my 
honest and serious opinion, founded upon much obser- 
vation, that so long as any considerable numbers of 
mules are employed there, it is utterly useless for 
missionaries to go to the Rocky Mountains. 

The last pipe smoked, the longest story heard out, 
such slumber follows as defies any ordinary disturb- 

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ance to break in upon. With complete composure you 
sleep through a steady rain falling on the piece of 
canvas laid over your face, or in momentary expecta- 
tion of being surprised by Indians. I have heard of 
a few camps in the old days having been run over by 
a stampede of buffaloes now and then ; but this, for- 
tunately, was rare. Now few worse interruptions of 
this sort occur to rest than the tramping among the 
sleepers of mules, in their attempt to make some 
felonious attack upon the edible portion of the cargo; 
and this only occurs where pasturage is scant. Once, 
camping near a Mexican pack-train of donkeys, we 
were thus greatly annoyed by those little brutes. 

Now and then, on the plains, coyotes venture close 
to camp, and, if they are very hungry, even come 
to the fireside in search of meat, and perhaps attempt 
to gnaw the straps off the saddle or boot your weary 
head reclines upon. Foiled in this, they adjourn to a 
respectful distance and set up prolonged and lugu- 
brious howls, which either keep you awake altogether 
or attune your dreams to some horrible theme. Per- 
haps I ought not to use the plural, since one coyote's 
voice is capable of noise enough to simulate a whole 
pack. No doubt it often happens that when a score 
seem howling in shrill concert there is really but a 
single wolf raining his quick-repeated and varied 
cries upon our unwilling ears. These small wolves 
are justly despised by all Western men ; but the big 
gray wolves are a different matter. 

While cougars and wolves and coyotes, and even 
Mexican burros^ are rare infringers on the sacred 
privacy of your sleep, numerous "small deer" come 
to Investigate the curious stranger who has stretched 

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himself out in their domain. Rattlesnakes are ex- 
tremely numerous over many parts of the West, and 
we used to fear that, with their love of waraith, the3^ 
would seek the shelter of our bedding to escape the 
chill of the night; but I do not know of any such an 
unpleasant bed-fellow having been found by any of 
the Survey people. I myself came pretty near to it, 
however, over on Cochetopa Creek, in Colorado, one 
night, when I unwittingly spread my blankets over 
a small hole in the ground. I snoozed on, unmindful 
of danger; but when I moved my bed in the morning 
out from the hole crawled a huge rattler, whose door- 
way I had stopped up all night. He would better 
have stayed in, for big John of Oregon caught him 
by the tail and broke his stupid neck before he had 
time to throw himself into a coil of vantage for the 
strike. 

If you camp in the woods you are certain of late 
visitors in the shape of mice and ubiquitous and 
squeaky ground-squirrels, whose nocturnal rambles 
lead them all over your bed-covers; often, indeed, 
their rapid, sharp-toed little feet scud across your 
cheek, and their furry tails trail athwart the bridge 
of your nose, brushing the dew from your sealed eye- 
lids. To the thousand insects rustling in the grass 
we never gave attention ; and not even the most home- 
bred tenderfoot ever thought of cotton in the ears ! 
How thus could he hear all the pleasant, faint voices 
speaking through the night so close about him.? 
Thoreau, writing from his camp on a sloping bank of 
the Merrimac, has well described the sounds of night : 

"With our heads so low in the grass, we heard the 
river whirling and sucking, and lapsing downward, 

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kissing the shore as it went, sometimes rippling 
louder than usual, and again its mighty current 
making only a slight, limpid, trickling sound, 
as if our water-pail had sprung a leak and 
the water was flowing into the grass by our 
side. The wind, rustling the oaks and hazels, 
impressed us like a wakeful and inconsiderate 
person up at midnight, moving about, and putting 
things to rights, occasionally stirring up whole draw- 
ers full of leaves at a puff. There seemed to be a 
great haste and preparation throughout Nature, as 
for a distinguished visitor; all her aisles had to be 
swept in a night by a thousand hand-maidens, and a 
thousand pots to be boiled for the next day's feast- 
ing — such a whispering bustle, as if ten thousand 
fairies made their fingers fly, silently sewing at the 
new carpet with which the earth was to be clothed, 
and the new drapery which was to adorn the trees. 
And the wind would lull and die away, and we, like it, 
fell asleep again." 

But I am dwelling too long upon this rare wakeful- 
ness in camp, rather than the ordinary and business- 
like repose of the night. One's sleep in the crisp air, 
after the fatigues of the hard day, is sound and 
serene. But the morning! Ah, that is the time that 
tries men's souls ! In this land one would find it very 
unpleasantly cold to be with her when 

"Jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain top.*' 

You awake at daylight a little chilly, readjust your 
blankets, and want again to sleep. The sun may 
pour forth from the "golden window of the east" and 
flood the world with limpid light ; the stars may pale 

[181] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

and the jet of the midnight sky be diluted to that deep 
and perfect morning blue into which you gaze to un- 
measured depths; the air may become a pervading 
champagne, dry and delicate, every draught of 
which tingles the lungs and spurs the blood along the 
veins with joyous speed; the landscape may woo the 
eyes with airy undulations of prairie or snow-pointed 
pinnacles lifted sharply against the azure — yet sleep 
chains you. That very quality of the atmosphere 
which contributes to all this beauty and makes it so 
delicious to be awake makes it equally blessed to 
slumber. 



[182] 



Odds and Ends of Camp 
Wisdom 



T 



HE man who cannot take things philosophi- 
cally in camp had better stay at home and 
sit in the parlor. 



When you are resting, rest. Make a business of 
it. Throw all care and worry, of either home or 
camp life, off your mind. Do nothing, say nothing, 
think nothing, be nothing. Recuperate. 



Provisions may be left to the last, but all other 
purchases should have been completed days before. 
Allow ample time for every preparation. Do not 
fly around town the last morning like a decapitated 
hen. You will find enough to annoy one in camp ; and 
you should start out as calmly and quietly as you 
go down to your business. 



If you are camping in deep woods, you need have 
little fear of anything being stolen when your camp 
is unprotected. Strangers, in passing, generally re- 
spect what is called the "law of the woods." And if 
a straggKng hunter should help himself out of your 

[183] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

abundance, he will be likely to take only enough for 
immediate need. But look out for the red squirrels 
and the moose-birds — both persistent robbers. 



Examine your lists carefully and strike out every- 
thing you think you can get along without. Sim- 
plicity should be your constant aim. Dispense with 
all the requirements of city Hfe as far as possible. 
If you are inexperienced, 3^ou probably will find after 
one or two seasons out that, of the articles you took 
with you into the woods the first time, you could 
have left two-thirds at home and still have been very 
well provided. 



Be sure you take with you a large stock of pa- 
tience and good-nature. Camping-out tests the char- 
acter. A good camper accommodates himself to cir- 
cumstances, and is too much of a philosopher to 
condescend to quarrel. Make no rules, if you can 
avoid it, and break none that are made. If you are 
appointed a leader, shift the office upon the shoul- 
ders of another man if you can ; and if not, then 
govern by tact and quiet influence, rather than by 
arbitrary regulations. 



Select a cheerful and dry spot for pitching your 
tent. Choose even ground, and slightly sloping. If 
you expect to remain in camp any length of time, 
dig (or cut with a hatchet) a small trench around 
your tent. This will prevent the water from higher 
ground running into your inclosure. If the trees 
are too thick, make an opening so as to let in the 
sunshine. Do not thoughtlessly cut down more trees 
than necessary. In most cases it will be found 

[1841 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

easier to discover a sufficiently open spot than to at- 
tempt to make one. 



A "smudge" is a small, smok}^ fire made for driv- 
ing away insects. It must have little fire and plenty 
of smoke. See that it is put entirely out when you 
are through with it, and in all cases be careful not 
to set fire to the woods. Often immense damage is 
done by campers in this way. Where the soil is 
partly made up of vegetable matter, a small fire 
frequently works a long distance along the ground 
before it so breaks out as to be perceptible. 



It has been well said that the genuine camper di- 
vides the year by the 1st of January. Up to that 
time his talk is all about the last camp he had, and 
after that it is all of the next camp. The old adage, 
"Seize time by the forelock, for he is bald behind," 
applies as well to pleasure as to business. Double is 
the enjoyment to the lover of woodland life if he 
knows weeks ahead just when, and just where, he is 
going to spend his vacation. Nor can he too early 
in the season look over and perfect his kit. Many 
an hour's dearly-bought pleasure has been marred by 
simply not preparing in time. Make out a full in- 
ventory of all you have on hand that you may need 
for the next vacation. Put down everything; not 
only usual cooking utensils, clothing, tent, and fish- 
ing-tackle, but also the little odds and ends of things, 
such as a chain, a hook, a piece of wire, etc. Often 
these little trifles prove a most valuable part of your 
inventory. Put down each article in a line by itself. 
Do not jumble three or four items together. Hav- 

[185] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

ing completed your inventory, make out a supple- 
mentary inventory of all those things which past ex- 
perience has taught you the necessity of, or which 
you think you require, and you have not already on 
your list. Leave nothing to memory; put every 
article down. Next, read everything you can find 
refen-ing to camping; and especially is this im- 
portant if you are a novice, for good camping is an 
art to be acquired only by experience and careful 
attention to every detail. One man will have twice 
the comfort, twice the pleasure, and at one-half the 
expense, that another man will, simply by knowing 
how to camp. As you read, make notes, and add 
to your supplementary inventory such articles as 
you find you have overlooked. 



The following observations should be borne in 
mind: No two campers are likely to cook the same 
thing in exactly the same way. Each camper is 
positive that his way is the best. Whoever is cook 
for the time being must quietly pursue his own way 
with good-natured persistence. If you are not cook, 
let the cook alone — and attend to your own busi- 
ness. It is excessively annoying while cooking in 
the open air to have persons around watching, sug- 
gesting, and criticising. The responsibility of get- 
ting up a dinner for a set of hungry people is in itself 
sufficient, without any additional perplexities. The 
cook should always have an abundance of fuel close 
at hand, both large and small sticks. The one who 
cooks should never be compelled to collect fire-wood. 
He must be able to give his whole undivided atten- 
tion to his special duty. 

[186] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

Be kind to the woods-folks around your camp — 
the birds and the mammals, both. Remember that 
the forest was made especially for them, and that, 
therefore, they are your natural hosts. So be their 
guest, in all that the term implies ; don't be an un- 
welcome and ill-bred intruder. You will find that 
virtually all of them are quite willing to be friendly, 
once they see that you are of that mind; and this 
they will be very quick to detect. Don't tempt the 
moose-birds (Canada jays) and the red squirrels to 
steal your grub by being stingy with it. You can 
easily prevent them from getting at what you really 
need, and you are missing half the fun of being in 
the woods unless you can appreciate the joke of hav- 
ing a moose-bird swoop down the instant your back 
is turned and steal a bit of bacon or a mouthful of 
beans off your plate. He is a poor apology for a 
camper and had better have stayed out of the woods 
altogether, who will not gladly give up half of his 
daily ration of bread or crackers for the satisfaction 
of having a bird or squirrel come up fearlessly and 
take food out of his hand. What's the use of being 
in the woods unless you are of the woods? 



[187] 



The Camper's Home Library 

A CHECK-LIST OF SUGGESTIONS 

Bates, F. A. — Camping and Camp Cooking. Boston : 

The Ball Publishing Co. 
Bradford, C. — The Angler's Secret. New York : G. 

P. Putnam's Sons. 

The Determined Angler. The same. 

Breck, E.— The Way of the Woods. New York: 

G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Wilderness Pets. The same. 

Camp, S. G. — Backwoods Medicine and Surgery. 

New York: The Outing Publishing Co. 
Cronau, R. — Our Wasteful Nation. New York: 

Mitchell Kennerley. 
Edwards, C. E. and Dyche, L. L. — Camp-Fires of a 

Naturalist. New York : D. Appleton and Co. 
Gibson, W. H. — Camp Life in the Woods and the 

Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making. New York : 

Harper and Bros. 
Goode, G. B. — American Fishes. New York: Forest 

and Stream Publishing Co. 
Gray, W. C. — Camp-Fire Musings. New York: F. 

H. Revell Co. 

[188] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

Harvey, A. K. P.— In the Glow of the Carap-Fire. 

Boston : The National Sportsman Press. 
Henshall, J. A. — Book of the Black Bass. Cincm- 

nati: Robert Clarke Co. 

Camping and Cruising in Florida. The same. 

Ye Gods and Little Fishes. The same. 

Hornaday, W. T. — The American Natural History. 

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies. The same, 

Huntington, D. — Our Big Game. New York: 

Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Our Feathered Game. The same. 

Ingersoll, E. — Knocking Round the Rockies. New 

York: Harper and Bros. 
The Life of Animals — The Mammals. New 

York : The Macmillan Co. 
Nature's Calendar. New York: Harper and 

Bros. 

Wild Neighbors. New York : The Macmillan Co. 

The Wit of the Wild. New York : Harper and 



Bros. 
Inman, H.— Tales of the Trail. Topeka : Crane & Co. 
Kephart, H. — The Book of Camping and Woodcraft. 

New York : The Outing Pubhshing Co. 

Camp Cookery. The same. 

Mather, F. — Men I Have Fished With. New York : 

Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
Mills, E. A.— The Spell of the Rockies. Boston: 

Houghton, Mifflin and Co. 

Wild Life in the Rockies. The same. 

Murray, W. H. H. — Adventures in the Wilderness. 

Boston : Lee and Shepard. 

[189] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

"Nessmuk" (G. W. Sears)— Woodcraft. New York: 

Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
Newkirk, N. — Doc an' Jim an' Me. Boston: The 

National Sportsman. 

One Injun and Three to Carry. The same. 

Pinchot, G. — Primer of Forestry (2 vols.). Washing- 
ton : U. S. Forestry Bureau. 
Rhead, L. (Ed.)— The Speckled Brook Trout. New 

York: Harper and Bros. 
Robinson, R. E. — Uncle Lisha's Shop. New York: 

Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 

Uncle Lisha's Outing. The same. 

Roosevelt, T. — The Wilderness Hunter. New York : 

G. P. Putnam's Sons. 
Selous, F. C. — Sport and Travel. New York : Long- 
mans, Green and Co. 
Tennant, J. A. — The Photo-Miniature. A series of 

monthly monographs. New York: Tennant and 

Ward. 
Van Dyke, T. S.— The Still Hunter. Garden City: 

Doubleday, Page and Co. 
Wallace, D. — The Long Labrador Trail. New York : 

The Outing Publishing Co. 

The Lure of the Labrador Wild. The same. 

White, S. E.— Camp and Trail. New York: The 

Outing Publishing Co. 
The Forest. Garden City: Doubleday, Page 

and Co. 

The Mountains. The same. 

Wright, W. H.— The Black Bear. New York: 

Charles Scribner's Sons. 
The Grizzly Bear. The same. 

[190] 



Trade Notes 



Many a man goes into the woods with a camp outfit 
second to none, and with a stock of camp lore that 
excites the admiration and envy of his friends. But 
he cannot take pictures; and goes back to his home 
with a lot of negatives that do anything but justice 
to the scenes and incidents of his camp life. 

The primary reason is because he cannot determine 
the proper exposure under all circumstances. Instru- 
ments called "exposure meters" have been devised to 
carry the amateur over the stumbling block. One 
principle that has been much employed has been to 
obtain the exposure time by tinting a sensitive piece 
of photographic paper and calculating the time re- 
quired. 

A better principle has now been put into practice. 
It was discovered by a German and involves a method 
of exposure calculation that is perfectly simple, thor- 
oughly accurate, and unaffected by atmospheric 
changes. This meter doesn't get out of order, and 

[191] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

with it you have always ready an absolutely true 
exposure guide. This meter is known as the "Heyder 
Blue Prism Exposure Meter" ; and further par- 
ticulars regarding it may be liad by writing the sole 
American importers, Herbert & Huesgen, No. 311 
Madison Avenue, New York City. 



German thoroughness has become almost a by- 
word. In more recent times this thoroughness has 
been especially exemplified in the fields of science and 
business. Among German manufactured products 
there is perhaps none that better exhibits the extreme 
care so typical of the German mind than the Sauer- 
Mauser rifle, manufactured by Messrs. J. P. Sauer & 
Son, and sold in this country exclusively by Schover- 
ling, Daly & Gales. Beauty of design, balance, 
strength, and finish particularly characterize these 
rifles. The appearance of this arai is markedly at- 
tractive, the stock being finished in what is known as 
dull-oil London finish, and the bluing employed on 
tlie metal parts being of a rich semi-transparent 
shade. 

It is impossible here to describe the Sauer-Mau- 
ser rifle in detail, but we may mention as distinctly 
worthy of note the firing mechanism and the maga- 
zine. In the magazine five shots may be carried in 
addition to the one in the chamber. This magazine 
is of what is known as the "double-column" type, in 
which the cartridges are carried side by side; the 
one which is to be pushed into the chamber being 
somewhat higher than the one next to it. The firing 
mechanism is simple and eff^ective. The main feature 
is a bolt containing the firing pin and the main- 

[193] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

spring. This bolt is operated by a handle on the 
side and moves backward and forward in the opera- 
tions of inserting a fresh cartridge, cocking the 
mainspring, and extracting the fired cartridge. The 
bolt is retained in the closed position by two strong 
lugs on the forward end. At the rear end of the 
bolt is an additional lug which assists in taking up 
the strain of the explosion. 

Those who desire to investigate this arm further 
should apply for a special catalogue to Messrs. 
Schoverling, Daly & Gales, at No. 302 Broadway, 
New York; or better yet, visit their well-appointed 
shop for a demonstration of its qualities. 



A .22 rifle will help to pass many an hour in per- 
manent camp. For target practice it is extremely 
handy and by its use you may develop your shooting 
ability with larger arms. During the open season, it 
is ideal for certain smaller game. 

The Remington U. M. C. .22 repeater is thus far 
the ultimate development in this size of rifle. It is a 
strong, simple gun with the following among its 
points of excellence: (1) It is hammerless and thus 
does away with frequent chances of danger. (2) It 
shoots .22 short, .22 long, and .22 long rifle cart- 
ridges indiscriminately; in fact, all three may be 
placed in the magazine at one and the same time. 
(3) It has a solid breech so that foreign substances 
cannot enter the action, produce clogging, and pos- 
sibly cause damage. 

Owing to the scientific preparation of the Reming- 
ton U. M. C. .22 it is thoroughly safe. Of many 
such small rifles this cannot be said. 

[193] 



THE CAMPER'S OWN BOOK 

A valuable accessory for every camping outfit — 
one that weighs very little, can conveniently be 
stowed away, and is on occasion of the utmost value 
— is a small "first aid" outfit. There are times when 
there is urgent need of absorbent cotton, sterilized 
gauze, adhesive plaster, etc., and of simple but ef- 
fective medicines. These things may, of course, be 
carried in a loose and disorganized fashion, but it 
is far better to have them in a neat package provided 
under the guarantee of some reliable house. It may 
not, perhaps, be amiss to say that the outfits made 
by Burroughs, Wellcome & Company are very popu- 
lar among campers, and are among the neatest and 
most practical that we have ever seen. 



[194] 



w 




iving it over again 




HEYDE'S 

DLUE PRISM 



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Meter 



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makes every picture tell the right 
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Write for Booklet 

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311 Madison Avenue, Room 20 
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^^m The Wilderness of the 
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B^ CHARLES WILSON 

With 70 Ilhistrations. $j.oo net ; postpaid $j.jo 
yV. ' Ml^\\ Theodore Roosevelt says editorially : 

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If you keep it pay us the balance $1.00 a month ^ . ^jth 5Uc. (stamps accepted). Send 
until paid. If you want to pay cash, de- - me, all charges paid, one complete 

duct 5%. ^ " set of tiissi-ll's Cjelopediii of Photo- 

graphy, bound ^i morocco. I may ex- 
amine tne work five days, and if I do not wish 
to keep it, I agree to notify you and hold sub- 
ject to your order, and you will refund my money, 



Cassell & Company 



Eibiblis'iai 13i3 

48-15 East 19lh Street 

NEW YORK CITY 



If I keep it, I will pay you the balance of $7.00 
in'monthly installments of $1 untU paid in full. 



Address Occupation. 



Maj 



IN THIS NUMBER 

1912 In Quest OF Sable Antelope |§y-pj, 

By Kermit Roosevelt '^ 



year 




't 



THE BEST OUTDOOR PAPER PUBLISHED 

Appealing to the Better Class of Sportsmen 

Among its Contributors for 1912 are : 

Theodore Roosevelt, Emerson Hough, Irving Bacheller, Lynn Haines, 

Edward A. Mcllhenny, John T. McCutcheon, Kermit Roosevelt 

Its Motto is : 

" The Sane Conservation of Wild Life " 

A pamphlet containing Emerson Hough's article " God's Acre," which appeared 
m the April issue, will be mailed to any sportsman upon request 

Published Monthly by 

a Year ^He Amatcur Sportsman Company 

Argus Building, 17 W. 42d Street 



20c. 
Copy 



NEW YORK, N. Y. 



DON'T BUY YOUR 

PHOTOGRAPHIC 

OUTFIT 

before you get my special list of 
the finest European and American 
Cameras, Lenses and Binoculars 

/ have the largest stock in this 
country at very attractive prices 



ASK FOR UP-TO-DATE BARGAIN LIST 



Lenses and Cameras Exchanged 



SPECIAL OUTFITTER TO SPORTSMEN 



MY NAME IN THE PHOTO WORLD IS MY GUARANTEE 





IMPORT AND EXPOR 

501 FIFTH AVE. ^^^^ ^^"^ ^^^^ ^'"^^- 

(Entrance on 42nd Street) 



You DO NOT NEED 
A Gun to Shoot Craps ! 
You Can Know Ail About 

Outdoor Sports Without Attending ! 




Let the next news-stand 
introduce you! 

PRICE TEN CENTS 



^ An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Pulsating with College Life 
^ Of Interest to All Recreation-Loving Americans 
^ A Lot of Action 

ESTABLISHED 1899 



PUBLISHED BY 



Inter Publishing Co., ^^^ivP-^js^n 



TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION COUPON 

A Special Trial Subscription Offer of Four Months for 25 Cents will 

Enable You to Secure a Liberal Education during the Summer! 



RECREATION 

Devoted to all that its title 

implies. Camping, fishing, 

canoeing, hunting and the 

other delights of the man who 

believes in clean wholesome 

recreation. 

If you do not know 

RECREATION 
we will mail a free sample copy 
(regular price 25 cents) and 
our exceedingly liberal "JUST 
TO GET ACQUAINTED'' 
offer if you will mention that 
you saw our advertisement in 
this book when you write. 

RECREATION 

124 W. 39th St., New York 




Seaside Pictures 




shopping bag. Only 



Lost Treasures 

How many times have 
you failed to take along 
your camera because it 
was too bulky and so lost 
a picture you would have 
treasured forever ? 
Here is The Wonderful Little 

Ensignette 

Folding Camera 

6 Exposures 
Daylight Loading Films 
One motion opens it 
Ready for instant use 
Made entirely of metal 
Beautifully finished 

So small you can slide 

it into your vest pocket or 

of an inch thick yet actual 



perfect picture is 1 ^^ x 2 ^ inches. 

By a new method Post card pictures 3)4 ^^H 
can be made with this little folding camera. 



Price $10.00 



sold only by Independent dealers, or sent prepaid on receipt 
of price. Money refunded if desirf d. We have a booklet and 
sample photos to send free to deliberate buyers— but everybody 
who knows cameras knows Gennerl. (Established 1854.) 
Wouldn't you spend $10.00 not to lose another picture ? 

The Ensipelle 

(Size only lKx3%x?4 in.) 
is a photographing 
note book. A conve- 
nient, practically use- 
ful companion for the 
coming outdoor days. 
Send money or write 
for free booklet today 



24-26 E. 13th St., New York 
320 So. Wabash Ave., Chicago 




For Lad 



EVERY SPORTSMAN 

should wear the 

MARATHON JOCK STRAP. 

It is made of the 
best woven elastic 
webbing, fits the 
body perfectly with- 
out buckles or fasten- 
ers, adjusts itself 
to every form and is 
the most comfortable 
Jock Strap made. Can 
be washed and used 
indefinitely. En- 
dorsed by members of 
the leading Athletic 
Clubs, including N.Y. 
A. C. and I. A. A. C. 

SPECIAL OFFER 



0. GENNERT, 



We also have the 

J. P. SUSPENSORY, 
a hand made, porous 
knit silk bag with- ! 
out leg straps — COOL [ 
-CLEAN-COMFORTABLE . j 
To introduce our \ 
goods to the readers j 
of this book we will' 
send the MARATHON 
JOCK STRAP and the J. 
P. SUSPENSORY for $1. 
Send coupon now with 
a dollar bill . We 
will send postpaid 
in a plain wrapper. 

WRITE FOR BOOKLET. 

J. P. BANDAGE CO. 
504W. 135th St. , N. Y. 

J. p. BANDAGE CO., 

504 West 135th Street, New York. 
Enclosed find }i as per your offer in T/te Camber's 07cji 
Book. Please send me one Marathon Jock Strap and one 
J. P. Silk Porous Knit Suspensory. 

Name 

Address — 

Waist Measure — 



CAMPING OUTFITS 

Are you a lover of the Big Outdoors ? If 
you are, our new book will interest you. 
Every page holds a practical thrill for the 
camper, gunner, fisherman or canoeist — and for 
the baseball, tennis and golf enthusiast as well. 
It was written by an Out-Door-Man for Out- 
Door-People. I want you to have this 

OUTDOOR GUIDE-FREE 

I'm a Child of the Big Outdoors myself and this 
business is my pride. Let us become friends through 
this new book. Write for it— No. 53 L 

New York Sporting Goods Co. 

15 and 17 Warren Street, near Broadway, New York 




At Home in the Water ^„ 



PRACTICAL OUTDOOR BOOKS 

^^'^Pl'^fl *^^ UOyS Illustrated. Library Buckram, postpaid $1 

A detailed collection of all the definite facts and methods needed for healthful, comfortable life in the open, 
by a man who takes hundreds of boys to the woods, every summer, and sends them home with more health 
and more sense than they ever had before. For boys of any age up to a hundred, it includes chapters on 
SANITATION. EQUIPMENT. FOOD (Receipts. Menus, Government tables of food-values). 
HEALTH (complete pain chart) . FIRST AID, etc. 

" Not only a book to delight boys themselves, but it should be read by their fathers." - Boston Transcript 

H. CORSAN 
Illustrated. Cloth, 75 cents 

SWIMMING (all strokes) ; DIVING (twenty kinds* : LIFE SAVING ; WATER SPORTS. 
The author has taught more boys and men to swim in the last two years than any other man in America. 
CHARLES M. DANIELS. Champion Swimmer of the United States, writes: 

'' The methods of illustrating are the best that can be devised and the pictures convey an extremely 
clear idea of what is meant. Mr. Corsan's book stands with the best, of which there are few, as a most 
complete work." 
The book has been favorably noticed in the New York Evening Sun, Post and Mail and in 
Leslie's Weekly. More practical value for less money than any other book published on this subject, 

Arniiiirl-tti«>-Fir<> ^* ^* burr 

r^AVUAlU tAiC^ rRM.^ Illustrated. Library buckram, 75 cents 

These are stories of beginnings, told in a way a father would like to tell them to his boys. They are 
specially good for reading aloud to a circle. Mr. Burr treats, in prose, material somewhat like that used in 
Longfellow's Hiawatha. He describes in the exciting form of fiction that makes the pages turn of themselves 
the real struggles of our ancestors to make this a habitable world and to find their way around in it. The First 
Captain, the First Sailor, the First Artist, the Call of the Great Water, etc. The pictures from old wood cuts 
put you right back where the stories happened. 

NEW YORK: 124 East 28tli Street 
LONDON: 47. Paternoster Row.E.C. 



ASSOCIATION PRESS 




Send for Our 

1912 CATALOG 




J. H. LAU & CO. 

75 CHAMBERS STREET, NEW YORK CITY 

Complete Lines 

ARMS 
AMMUNITION 
FENCING 
BASEBALL 
SPORTING GOODS 
EAGLE BLASTING CAPS 

EAGLE METALLIC CARTRIDGES 



Fine Fishing Tackle 





Our 1912 catalog is now ready for distri- 
bution. It has 184 pages (9,^^ x 6^) and 
contains 440 illustrations from new and origi- 
nal cuts and a full page picture of the 684 
lb. RECORD TUNA. 

The splendid display of our vast stock shown in the pages 
of this catalog will fascinate every angler. 

We are pleased to send this book to anyone on receipt 
of 10c. to cover postage, which amount we agree to 
refund with the first order of $ 1 .00 or more. 



H 2 



EDWARD VOM HOPE & CO., 

Q O 70-71 Fulton Street 



NEW YORK, N. Y. 



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